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Last updated on Friday, February 16, 2018
(BLOOMINGTON) - On Thursday, at the Charlotte T. Zietlow Justice Center, Billie Jean Edison plead guilty in a negotiated plea deal to her part in a murder of 26-year-old Brittany Sater.
Edison, 43, pleaded guilty to robbery resulting in serious injury for her part in the 2016 murder of Brittany Sater. Charges of murder and burglary resulting in serious bodily injury were dismissed.
Edison was offered the plea deal in exchange for providing information and testifying against the other two men involved in the murder.
Monroe Circuit Judge Teresa Harper sentenced Edison, of Greenwood, to 16 years in prison, with four years suspended. She received credit for 535 days served at the Monroe County Jail and was will spend 1,440 days on probation after her release.
Two men were involved in the August 2016 shooting death - 32-year-old Johnny Moore and 22-year-old Dennis Dior, both of Indianapolis.
Moore was found guilty by a jury of murder, burglary and robbery resulting in serious bodily injury in April. Moore admitted to being the driver in the shooting death. He was sentenced to 65 years for murder and 12 years for burglary. The sentences will be served consecutively.
Dennis Dior pleaded guilty to the crime. He told Monroe County Circuit Court Judge that he used an assault rifle to shoot Sater in the stomach during a robbery at her South Rogers Street duplex last year. He apologized for his actions.
Judge Teresa Harper sentenced Dior to 60 years in prison for murder, plus another three years for robbery. The sentences will be served consecutively. With good-time credit and time already served, he will be close to 70 years old before a potential release from prison.
The crime
Bloomington Police were called to a home in the 2300 block of South Rogers Street at 12:50 a.m. Sunday, August 28, 2016 after a report a woman had been shot.
When police arrived they found Sater had suffered a gunshot to the chest. She was transported to IU Health Bloomington Hospital in critical condition.
Sater died at 9:56 a.m. in a hospital room, nine hours after a high-velocity bullet from an SKS rifle destroyed her liver, causing her to bleed to death.
Sater was able to tell emergency crews while being transported to the hospital that two people, a male and female who she knew, had entered her home and shot her with a shotgun.
Bloomington Police claim Moore came to Bloomington to sell heroin, then ordered two others to commit a robbery that resulted in the shooting death of Sater.
Moore told police after his arrest that he only went to Sater's house to sell her 40 grams of heroin and did not plan or participate in the murder. Police say Moore ordered the robbery and waited in the car.
Police arrested Edison and Webb. Bloomington Police believe Webb was the one that pulled the trigger.
Edison testified against Moore during his jury trial.
Police say Edison, who knew Sater, knocked on the door and her and Webb entered. Webb told police he worked for Moore collecting drug money the day of the shooting.
Webb says Edison owed Moore money, but didn't have it. She told Moore they could get the money by robbing Sater.
Webb admitted to shooting Sater, says during the robbery Sater had grabbed for his rifle. When she didn't get the rifle away from him, she ran to get her shotgun she kept in her bedroom closet.
After the shooting the Edison and Webb stole Sater's cell phone so she could not call for help.
Police say Sater was able to drag herself to a neighbor's home to get help.
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