Drew Carter III is accused of fatally shooting 36-year-old Jessica Flores, a mother of six who went missing in February 2019. Her remains were later found in a wooded area in Gary.
Carter's conviction comes after a judge granted a motion to dismiss the murder case against him in September 2019. He remained in custody on a separate firearms charge stemming from his arrest, and prosecutors refiled murder charges in October 2022.
But Carter was released on bond in 2023 because, under Indiana law, if a case isn't brought to trial within 180 days, the defendant has a right to be released while they wait.
Now, he faces up to life in prison after being found guilty of murder, kidnapping while armed with a deadly weapon, criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon and criminal confinement with bodily injury.
Carter's sentencing is set for July 17 in Lake County, Indiana.