Posted For: Hauviette
An Indiana man will spend decades behind bars for shooting his estranged wife while she was five months pregnant — an attack that seriously wounded her and caused the loss of the unborn child.
Jeremy McBride, 37, was sentenced Tuesday to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder and feticide in the shooting of Kayla Netherland. The judge imposed 30 years for attempted murder and nine years for feticide, to be served concurrently. McBride also received credit for 526 days already served.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department responded around 6 p.m. on Jan. 19, 2025, to a shooting in the 700 block of East Pleasant Run Parkway in Indianapolis. They found Netherland, then 25, in a bathroom with multiple gunshot wounds. She was rushed to a hospital, where doctors stabilized her but were unable to save the fetus.
According to a probable-cause affidavit, a friend of Netherland arrived at the home around the time of the shooting to do laundry and walked inside to find McBride standing over the wounded woman. He looked at the friend and left without speaking. The friend told police she believed he was the shooter. Investigators later used license-plate readers to locate McBride and pull him over.
When stopped, McBride exited his car, which rolled into a pole because it was not in park, authorities said. He told the officer he had been on his way to turn himself in and that the gun was inside the vehicle. He also asked whether Netherland was OK. Police recovered the firearm and handwritten notes addressed to her discussing their relationship.
Detectives said the writings described his anger over her alleged infidelity, the failing marriage, and his insecurities about not becoming the partner and father he believed she wanted. After receiving Miranda warnings, McBride told investigators he was upset that although they were still married, she had become pregnant by another man. The couple had separated in September 2024, but he had hoped for reconciliation.
He admitted buying a gun and ammunition days before the attack, intending to kill her, the baby, and himself. On the day of the shooting, the pair had spent time together shopping before returning to her home. While she was in the bathroom and he sat on the bed, he decided to shoot, firing five rounds into her back without warning, according to the affidavit.
“Certainly what is alleged is this person went to great lengths to carry out what he intended to do,” Ryan Mears, prosecutor for Marion County, told local Fox affiliate WXIN.
Police said Netherland underwent multiple surgeries, including one to remove the fetus and another to treat internal injuries.