BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY, Ind. — A Columbus man received a 40-year prison sentence for the role he played in his daughter's death on Tuesday.
FOX59 and CBS4 have confirmed that 41-year-old Jeremy Sweet pleaded guilty in a case where he faced three charges, including neglect of a dependent resulting in death, which is a Level 1 Felony. The maximum penalty for a Level 1 Felony in Indiana is a 40-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $10,000.
Previous reporting indicates Sweet and his 2-year-old daughter, Emma Sweet, went missing on Thanksgiving Day in 2021. Some duck hunters later found Jeremy in a truck that was submerged in the east fork of the White River.
Jeremy was transported from the area to a hospital to receive treatment for hypothermia, and law enforcement intensified its search for Emma. Divers later found Emma's body two and a half miles downstream from where Jeremy's vehicle was located.
According to court records, detectives spoke with Jeremy the day after his daughter's body was found. During an interview with police, Jeremy admitted to using methamphetamine and marijuana on Thanksgiving Day.
Police also reported that Jeremy gave them multiple stories about what happened to his daughter. None of Jeremy's tellings of the stories were the same, according to the Bartholomew County Sheriff's Office.
"This is a complete tragic, senseless loss of life," Bartholomew County Prosecutor Lindsey Holden-Kay said on Tuesday. "It should've never happened. They were decisions made that day that this was so preventable."
As of this article's publication, no additional information on Jeremy's sentencing had been made available.