Left inset: Cecil Mains (Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department). Right inset: Jeri Mains (GoFundMe). Background: The Indiana home where Jeri Mains was shot and killed by her husband in front of their four children (WTHR).
An Indianapolis man will spend decades behind bars for killing his wife in front of their four children—just days after she sought a protective order alleging that he had abused her.
Cecil Mains, 47, was sentenced Monday to 45 years in prison followed by five years of probation for the December 2025 murder of Jeri Mains, 44. Court records also bar him from contacting the couple’s children throughout his sentence.
“After age 18, protected persons can petition the court to lift no contact orders,” according to minutes from Monday’s sentencing hearing.
Mains pleaded guilty to murder on Aug. 26. According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, he used a .380 handgun to shoot Jeri, striking her in the heart, liver and spine. Each of the couple’s four children—ages 19, 16, 14 and 10—called police after witnessing the shooting.
“My dad is shooting my mom!” the 10-year-old told a 911 dispatcher, according to the affidavit.
“I’m hiding,” the child continued. “My mom has a restraining order against him. … I can’t live without her.”
Investigators said the 14-year-old placed the first 911 call, followed by the 19-year-old and then the 16-year-old. The affidavit described “a lot of commotion in the background” during the calls.
“My dad just shot my mom,” the 19-year-old told dispatchers. “He shot her in the house and in the driveway!”
Jeri filed a protective-order petition against her husband on Christmas Day, three days before the shooting, court records show. Because the filing was made on a holiday, a judge could not approve it while court offices were closed, local ABC affiliate WRTV and The Indianapolis Star reported.
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In the petition, Jeri identified herself as a domestic-violence victim and alleged that Cecil assaulted her with kitchen tongs on Christmas Eve, leaving her with a cut and bruises. Court officials later confirmed to Law&Crime that the petition existed but said the document was “confidential.”
Jeri’s brother told police that she had “caught Cecil cheating on her” and made him leave their home, although the timing was unclear. The affidavit states that Cecil then began living with his brother.
The brother also told investigators that Jeri had discussed Cecil’s alleged physical abuse, including incidents described in her December 2025 protective-order filing.
The IndyStar reported that Jeri’s petition alleged Cecil punched a computer during an argument on Dec. 10, causing hot chocolate to spill onto her. She also said he punched her in the face during a November dispute, leaving her with a bloody nose and bruising. Earlier in 2025, she alleged, he punched through the driver’s-side window of her truck and repeatedly threatened to kill their four children and pets.
“[The 14-year-old child] stated in a previous disturbance she heard her father say he was going to kill them,” the affidavit says.
According to the petition, Cecil met Jeri in a courthouse parking lot on Christmas Eve after she told him she wanted a divorce. Jeri said she recorded a conversation in which Cecil threatened to kill himself in front of her and their children.
The IndyStar reported that a Marion County judge could not review Jeri’s protective-order request because the judge’s office was closed from Dec. 24 through Dec. 28.
Police said Cecil shot Jeri in front of the children, left her body in the driveway and fled in a Toyota Tundra. Authorities spotted the truck and arrested him during a traffic stop the next day.
“These kids have … endured more than any child should,” a GoFundMe campaign description says. “All their lives have changed.”