Vanderburgh County judge sentences Austin Ousley for 2023 double shooting
EVANSVILLE — A judge sentenced Austin Ousley, the man convicted of shooting two brothers − one of them fatally − inside a Vanderburgh County farmhouse in 2023, to serve a total of 60 years in prison during a hearing Wednesday morning.
A jury found Ousley, 19, guilty of reckless homicide and attempted murder in March for the killing of 42-year-old Shawn Wildt and the shooting of 36-year-old Chad Wildt, who suffered severe injuries.
Judge Robert Pigman of the Vanderburgh County Superior Court sentenced Ousley to serve 55 years in prison for the attempted murder charge, including a 10-year enhancement for using a firearm in the commission of a felony, and five years in prison for reckless homicide.
Pigman ordered that Ousley serve the sentences consecutively, or back to back. Ousley will receive about 1 year and 4 months credit for time served, court records state. Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Diana Moers said in a statement that she hopes the lengthy sentence will "bring some healing and closure to the victims' families."
On Feb. 27, 2023, the Wildt brothers traveled to a Cypress Dale Road farmhouse their family owned to investigate a spate of break-ins and trespassing incidents when they encountered Ousley, who was then 18, according to testimony and evidence presented at trial.
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Ousley admitted that he shot both men inside the home, but claimed at trial that he did so during a struggle — a contention prosecutors disputed. According to Ousley's defense team, he and a then-17-year-old friend entered the Wildts' farmhouse without permission out of a shared interest in "urban exploration."
Ousley's friend did not testify at the trial and was not charged for the shooting.
Shawn Wildt was pronounced dead when law enforcement reached the scene. Chad Wildt suffered a gunshot wound to his face and survived after undergoing a mass blood transfusion and multiple surgeries, according to prosecutors.
Ousley would flee the area and later attempt to take his own life by shooting himself in the head outside a Rural King in Evansville. He survived his injuries, received treatment at an Indianapolis hospital and was ultimately found competent to stand trial.
A jury found Ousley guilty of reckless homicide, but not felony murder, after nearly eight hours of deliberation on March 15. The jurors also found Ousley guilty of attempted murder, but not burglary or trespassing.
"This case is a reminder that our quick actions can change our lives permanently," Moers said Wednesday. "The defendant in this case was sentenced to 60 years in the Department of Corrections and this case undoubtedly changed the lives of all involved."
If Ousley were to serve the entirety of his sentence, he would be 79 years old upon his release.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Vanderburgh judge sentences Austin Ousley for 2023 double shooting
