Indiana woman pleads guilty but mentally ill in 2nd woman’s murder

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A woman accused of fatally shooting another woman last year pleaded guilty but mentally ill to a charge of murder on Friday.

Valerie Rose Hardiek, 23, entered the plea in the June 20, 2021, shooting death of Shelby Vonholdt at a home in Fort Wayne.

Hardieck struck a plea agreement with Allen County prosecutors that calls for a judge to sentence her to a term deemed proper, WANE-TV reported. Sentencing is set for Sept. 23.

Police and medics were called to the home after receiving a 911 hang-up from the home. Officers eventually made contact with Vonholdt at the home and found she’d been shot multiple times in the chest and abdomen.

Vonholdt was taken to a hospital and died a short time later.

Court records say Vonholdt identified the shooter as “Valerie” and police gathered video from a doorbell camera showing her vehicle leaving the scene.

Hardiek was arrested two days after the shooting in Van Wert County, Ohio. Police there said she pointed a gun at a customer at a convenience store, and customers reported the woman had been at the gas pumps for more than an hour acting like she was reading credit card numbers from other customers, then pointed a gun at a man.

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