Louis Wilkinson
Boone Co. Sheriff's Office
(Hebron, Ky.) - A man who helped his mother kidnap and extort an elderly Hebron man before burning his body has pleaded guilty.
Louis Wilkinson, 30, appeared in Boone Circuit Court on Tuesday to plead to charges of kidnapping, abuse of a corpse and exploitation of an adult. Prosecutors agreed to drop a murder charge in exchange for the plea, the Kentucky Enquirer reports.
In February 2009, Wilkinson and his mother, Willa Blanc, kidnapped 73-year-old millionaire Walter Sartory from his Hebron home.
Investigators say Sartory died as he was drugged and held in the basement of Blanc’s home in Union. Blanc, 50, forged documents to gain access to Sartory’s life savings.
After Sartory’s death, Wilkinson allegedly helped his mother burn Sartory’s body and dump the remains in a central Indiana field.
Sartory was a a retired scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee who suffered from social phobia and schizophrenia.
With the remaining charges, Wilkinson faces up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced in May. The minimum sentence for a capital kidnapping case as required by state law is 20 years.
Blanc was sentenced to life in prison without parole in January after she pleaded guilty in the case.
LINKS:
Life In Prison For Hebron Man's Kidnapper
Woman Pleads To Fatal Kidnapping; Gets Life
Kroger to Close Approximately 60 Stores
City of Lawrenceburg to Open Emergency Cooling Shelter
Driver Cited After Accident at State Road 1 and Ridge
Genesis: Pathways to Success Announces New Entrepreneural Program Coordinator
Water Boil Advisory Issued for Holton Water, Hoosier Hills Customers
Batesville Middle School Assistant Principal Resigns; Accepts Job in Rushville
