An Indiana man who is charged with literally murdering his wife of 12 years was still able to get 60 votes in the Republican primary for a local township board this week. People will do anything to say how much they hate women, huh?
Andrew Wilhoite, 40, is being held without bond at Boone County Jail.
The township board has three slots, so it looks like all Republicans will advance. There are no Democratic challengers. There is a mechanism for Wilhoite to be taken off the ballot if he’s convicted before or after the general election. “If a candidate is ultimately convicted, then depending upon the timing of that conviction, the person can be replaced on the ballot by the political party that has a vacancy,” Brad King, co-director of the Indiana Election Division, told IndyStar.
Wilhoite was investigated after his wife Nikki didn’t show up for work in late March. According to local news reports, Wilhoite initially told police that his wife had filed for divorce, and that night, the pair had a fight, so they slept on the couch and then went to work the next morning. However, after speaking to an attorney, Wilhoite changed his story, WTHR reported.
According to local news, this is what lead to Nikki’s death: Wilhoite told police the couple fought outside around 10 p.m. and said Nikki ran at him. Wilhoite told police he hit Nikki with a “gallon-size concrete flower pot,” knocking her unconscious, IndyStar reported. Then, Wilhoite said he drove her body to Ross Ditch, Ind., and “dumped her over the bridge,” according to WTHR.
Nikki’s body was recovered on March 26. Wilhoite was then arrested on “suspicion” of murder, though this feels like a pretty cut-and-dry case.
Wilhoite’s next hearing is scheduled for the end of the month, and the trial is set for August.
We here at Jezebel are very pro “innocent until proven guilty,” but maybe getting himself off the ballot should have been a priority after (according to reports) he told the police which creek they could find his wife’s body in?
Beyond the obvious implications of intimate partner violence, this is a great example of why the Democratic Party should be putting up candidates in every race. Am I annoying for pointing this out? Probably. I would just love to see local parties take this as a small teachable moment.