INDIANAPOLIS -- A Marion County judge sentenced Richard Norris to 30 years in prison Thursday for killing his grandmother in 2015.
Norris, 25, agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter and battery in connection with the death of Lucille Gladney, 78, in August 2015.
In exchange, prosecutors dropped the most serious charge of murder against him.
On Thursday, Judge Mark Stoner sentenced Norris to 30 years in the Indiana Department of Correction with credit for 628 days already served in the Marion County Jail. Stoner also recommended Norris undergo a mental health evaluation and treatment while serving his sentence.
Police arrested Norris in August 2015 shortly after family members discovered Gladney dead in her bedroom with a rope around her neck.
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Norris was found sitting in his grandmother's car a short distance away and was taken into custody.
His aunt told investigators her nephew had been staying with his grandmother since April of that year after he attacked his mother. Family members told police Norris had been in treatment for schizophrenia and had only recently been released from treatment.
Neighbors told RTV6 in 2015 that Gladney's loss would be deeply felt, as she and her family had been long-time members of their southeast side community.
"She was one of the first black families to integrate down here, to come to the area. And her family has been here forever," family friend Master Watkins said. "It's going to be a loss for the neighborhood."
