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Mac Lewis and the home where he gunned down his wife in front of her daughter last year (WBRD screenshot)
A 48-year-old man in Indiana will spend the rest of his days behind bars for killing his wife after she asked for a divorce, fatally shooting her in front of two young girls, one of whom was the victim’s then-11-year-old daughter.
Clark County Circuit Court Judge Nicholas A. Karaffa on Thursday ordered Mac Lewis to serve a sentence of 100 years in a state correctional facility for the cold-blooded attack that left Elizabeth Bennet Lewis dead, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
A jury earlier this month found Lewis guilty of one count of murder, one count of attempted murder, and three counts of criminal recklessness committed with a firearm. After returning with the verdict, jurors then found that there were aggravating circumstances for a handgun enhancement for the fatal shooting, which can add up to 20 additional years to a sentence.
Judge Karaffa handed Lewis 55 years on the murder charge, 30 years on the attempted murder charge, three years on the recklessness charge, plus an additional 12 years on the firearm enhancement, all to run consecutively.
Elizabeth Bennet’s now-13-year-old daughter, Tinsley Mullen, addressed the court and spoke about watching the horrific scene unfold while her 10-year-old friend was in the house with her.
“I have to ask the judge, should an 11-year-old have to see their mom murdered in their home and have a gun pointed at them?” Tinsley said, according to a report from the News and Tribune.
She talked about how she remembers that night being like a war zone, asking the court to send Lewis to prison for life, Louisville, Kentucky ABC affiliate WHAS reported.
“Please consider that he took my mom, my mom was our world,” Tinsley continued. “I’ll never be the same. He should be punished for what he did to my mom. Please send him far away. Far away as you can. Never let him out of prison.”
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Tinsely’s older sister, 15-year-old McKenna Bennet, also reportedly addressed the court, speaking directly to Lewis — “I hope the rest of your life is as miserable as you have made ours.”
Elizabeth Bennet was the daughter of Tony Bennett, a former State Superintendent of Public Instruction in Indiana and former Commissioner of Education in Florida.
“After 18 months of absolute hell, today is the first day of justice for our beautiful daughter, their mom, our two grandchildren and (their friend) who endured this tragedy,” Tony Bennett said in a statement following the verdict. “No children, no child, should ever have their mom stripped away from them in the manner Lizzie was stripped away (from her kids.) And even more, no child should have that happen before their eyes.”
The shooting took place inside the home Lewis shared with Tinsley and his wife. Lewis shot Elizabeth Bennet four times, then fired shots at Tinsley, which resulted in the attempted murder charge and conviction. The criminal recklessness charges stemmed from Lewis firing the gun several other times while inside the home, with one bullet getting stuck in a neighbor’s house across the street.
During the trial, prosecutors played a portion of the 911 call Elizabeth Bennett’s daughter placed after witnessing her mother being gunned down by her Lewis.
“My stepdad just killed my mom,” the child could be heard telling the Clark County emergency dispatcher.
Lewis’ defense attorney at trial claimed that Lewis had the gun with him because he was going to kill himself after his wife told him she wanted a divorce. He further argued that Elizabeth Bennett was shot while trying to wrestle the gun away from her husband. Prosecutors called that argument an “insult” to Elizabeth Bennet and her family.
Lewis, who did not testify during his trial, addressed the court for the first time, per WHAS. He apologized for the pain he’d caused his wife’s loved ones but maintained that the ordeal was an accident.
“I really didn’t mean for my actions,” he reportedly said. “Everybody thinks I’m a monster. But I’m not. It was an accident. I’m not a monster. I know it was an accident. I loved Lizzie to death.”
