COLUMBUS, Ind. – Bartholomew County Prosecutor Lindsey Holden-Kay has announced that Patrick Doyle will spend 85 years in the Indiana Department of Correction for the 2021 murder of Heather Steuver.
On February 17, 2023, after a four-day trial, a jury convicted Doyle of murder after deliberating for about one hour. Doyle was sentenced Thursday to 65 years for the murder and an additional 20 years under the Habitual Offender Sentencing Enhancement.
On August 21, 2021, Doyle battered and smothered his girlfriend. In his statements to detectives, he claimed he had been drinking and did not remember what had happened. He admitted to waking to find Steuver dead and to burying her body in a shallow grave at a nearby quarry. Steuver’s body was later located and recovered by the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office.
“Patrick Doyle senselessly took the life of a young mother, daughter, and friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with Heather’s family as they continue to try to cope with this horrific loss,” Prosecutor Holden-Kay stated. “We hope that the conclusion of this trial provides some level of closure to them in that Mr. Doyle has been held accountable for his actions.”
