With the clock running out, the man accused of killing Brittney Boman in southern Indiana has days to decide whether to take a plea or roll the dice with a jury. Prosecutors have put an offer on the table, and if it is not accepted by the end of this week, the 2022 Henryville murder case is headed for trial next month. The shooting in a wooded patch near Henryville left Boman mortally wounded and her family now watching the court calendar as closely as the lawyers.
Court records list a jury trial for Derek James Pixley at 9 a.m. on July 6 in Clark Circuit Court, with a plea deadline set for the end of the day June 22 and a jury to be called on June 23. Those dates strongly suggest a formal offer from prosecutors. According to WAVE, recent MyCase docket updates spell out the plea timeline, the jury call, and a final pretrial hearing that was scheduled in mid-June as both sides geared up for the July trial slot.
How Investigators Built the Case
Indiana State Police cold-case detectives arrested Pixley in May 2025 after the Clark County Sheriff’s Office turned the investigation over to the state unit, according to CBS Chicago. The case traces back to a 911 call on Oct. 2, 2022, that sent deputies to Brownstown Road in Henryville. After the cold-case team pieced together its findings, prosecutors reviewed the file, and state troopers arrested Pixley in Scott County before transporting him to the Clark County Jail.
Scene and Victim
Brittney Elizabeth Boman was found with a gunshot wound in a wooded area off Brownstown Road on Oct. 2, 2022. She was rushed to the University of Louisville for treatment but died on Dec. 30, 2022, local reporting shows. As detailed by WBIW, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office initially worked the crime scene before the Indiana State Police cold-case unit took over the investigation in December 2024. Throughout that transition, Boman’s family has publicly pushed for answers while the case moved through state police review and the prosecutor’s office.
What Comes Next in Court
The calendar now leaves very little wiggle room for a negotiated deal. If no plea is accepted by June 22, the case is set to move into jury selection in late June and into trial in early July. Proceedings are scheduled in Clark Circuit Court at the Clark County Courthouse in Jeffersonville, according to county court listings. For anyone tracking every motion and hearing date, Clark County directs the public to the state’s MyCase portal for the official docket.
Legal Stakes of a Plea
A guilty plea would take the jury out of the equation and resolve the case at the trial court level, but that does not mean prosecutors have the final word. Indiana trial judges routinely screen felony plea agreements and can turn them down if they believe a deal overly limits sentencing options or clashes with public safety concerns. In a 2026 opinion, the Indiana Supreme Court emphasized that judges may review and reject plea agreements to protect defendants and the public and to preserve judicial sentencing authority.
Court reporting from Pixley’s first appearance notes that he has been held in the Clark County Jail without bond and is under a no-contact order involving Boman’s family. Those family members were “displeased that it took so long,” WAVE reported.
For now, the plea deadline forces both sides to make a call: strike a deal within days or let a Clark County jury decide the 2022 Henryville murder case in July.
