37 years for Indy man who shot pregnant girlfriend in head

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man will spend more than three decades behind bars after being found guilty of shooting his pregnant girlfriend in the head while multiple young children were in the home.

Miraculously, the victim survived the shooting as the bullet entered her forehead, traveled around her skull, and exited out of her left ear.

Stephen Wieland was found guilty in March of attempted murder. At his sentencing hearing on Monday, the judge handed down a 37-year prison sentence.

Previous stories detail the shooting, which occurred in February 2023 at a duplex in the 1600 block of Harlan Street on Indy’s near southeast side.

Wieland escorted police into the home where the victim was found lying on the bedroom floor with a gunshot wound to the head. Wieland tried to claim he found her like that after coming home to find the door open.

Several witnesses, however, overheard an argument between Wieland and his girlfriend and the sound of a gunshot. These witnesses also spotted him leaving the duplex after the gunshot. One identified him as a “strung out” looking skinny male with tattoos on his neck.

Police ended up locating a handgun hidden inside a diaper bag, which Wieland admitted to owning. A search of his person uncovered 10mm rounds for the handgun along with the keys to his girlfriend’s vehicle.

Wieland had been accused of battering his girlfriend in the past. He was also accused of pointing a firearm at her ex-boyfriend and making threats.

Three young children were in the home at the time of the shooting. The children told police that Wieland and their mother had been fighting and recalled seeing “blood everywhere.”