A Brookville woman was sentenced Wednesday to 17.5 years in prison, with one year suspended to probation, after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of her brother. Crystal Pence appeared for her sentencing hearing in Franklin County, Indiana, nearly two years after the December 2024 shooting that killed Ronald Pence.
Pence was originally charged with murder and pleaded not guilty before later entering a guilty plea to the lesser felony charge during a pre-trial hearing, according to Eagle Country 99.3. The outlet reports that the sentencing order also bars Pence from owning a firearm once she is released from prison.
Ronald Pence, her brother, sustained a gunshot wound to the chest, and immediate medical aid proved unsuccessful in saving his life, the station's report on her guilty plea states. Crystal, who was 29 at the time of the shooting, was taken into custody at the scene, per the same account. The case had stretched on for nearly two years, with a jury trial originally set for July 14, 2025, before being rescheduled twice, most recently to April 6, 2026, Eagle Country 99.3 reported in an earlier update — before the matter was ultimately resolved with a plea rather than going to trial.
Conflicting Accounts of Where and When the Shooting Happened
Accounts of the shooting's exact date and location differ across outlets. The News Examiner reported that Crystal Pence called 911 at approximately 1:40 a.m. on December 12th to report that she had shot her brother, while The Brookville American's coverage of the case described the shooting as occurring on December 13, identifying the victim as 32-year-old Ronald W. Pence. The address has also been described inconsistently: Eagle Country 99.3 placed the shooting at an apartment complex on Fairfield Avenue, while WLWT reported that Crystal L. Pence, 29, was alleged to have shot and killed her brother at Riverfront Apartments on Fairview Avenue in Brookville.
What multiple outlets agree on is that Pence did not flee the scene. WLWT reported that Pence stayed at the scene after the shooting until police arrived. She was booked into the Franklin County Jail, where her bond was set at $1 million, according to The Brookville American's reporting on the case.
What Voluntary Manslaughter Carries Under Indiana Law
Under Indiana law, voluntary manslaughter is classified as a Level 2 felony when a person knowingly or intentionally kills another human being while acting under sudden heat, according to the Indiana General Assembly's statutory code. A separate fiscal analysis from the Indiana Legislative Services Agency, Office of Fiscal and Management Analysis, lists the sentencing range for a Level 2 voluntary manslaughter conviction at 10 to 30 years, noting that 95% of those convicted are committed to the Department of Correction. Pence's 17.5-year sentence, with one year suspended to probation, falls within that statutory range.
The case moved from an initial murder charge to the eventual guilty plea over the course of nearly two years, reflecting a path Eagle Country 99.3 has tracked through multiple court delays and rescheduled trial dates. With sentencing now complete, the firearm prohibition included in the order will remain in effect once Pence is released from custody.
