FRANKLIN — A man convicted of killing a woman near a Franklin apartment complex last year has been sentenced.
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Elijah Thomas, 28, of Lebanon, was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday. His first opportunity for parole will be in 40 to 42 years, according to the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office.
Thomas was found guilty during a two-day bench trial of aggravated murder, two counts of murder, felonious assault, and improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation earlier this month.
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The charges were in connection to the killing of Katelyn Puckett, 23, in June 2023.
In the early hours of June 17 Thomas allegedly “ambushed” Puckett in the 100 block of Boulder Drive, near Emerald Edge Apartments, Franklin Police Department previously told News Center 7.
He fired nine shots at close range before running from the scene. Six of the shots hit Puckett, killing her.
The shooting was captured on a neighbor’s doorbell camera.
During the investigation, Puckett’s family told police that Thomas had made multiple violent threats toward her in the days and weeks before the shooting.
“GPS location data showed that Thomas had been lying in wait for more than 30 minutes before Puckett and her companions returned home,” prosecutors said.
During court proceedings, Judge Donald E. Oda II noted that Thomas showed little remorse for his actions.
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