After hours of deliberations and late-night proceedings, jurors on Tuesday found a Warrick County man guilty of murder for the 2023 killing of 27-year-old Manuel Heaton.
The 12-member jury did not, however, find that Johnathon J. Buza should be sentenced to a term of life without the possibility of parole and will instead leave his eventual sentence up to the court.
Buza, 42, stood accused of fatally shooting “Manny” Heaton in the Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area amidst a financial scheme in April 2023 and faced charges of murder, robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 2 felony, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, in addition to sentencing enhancements.
Jurors found Buza guilty of murder and unlawful possession of a firearm but found him not guilty of robbery.
Buza’s trial began July 22. Warrick County Circuit Court Judge Greg A. Granger will sentence Buza at a later date.
According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, which led the investigation in concert with the Warrick County Sheriff’s Office, a passerby reported finding a deceased man, later identified as Heaton, on April 22, 2023, in the Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area, a 2,532-acre park popular with local hunters, fishermen and trappers.
Heaton had suffered multiple gunshot wounds and been left at the park to die, according to the DNR. His cellphone was nowhere to be found, and neither was the key to his Chevrolet Camaro, which was parked nearby.
It didn’t take long for investigators to suspect Buza’s involvement.
Heaton’s father reportedly told police Heaton had gone on a nighttime fishing trip with a friend named “Buza” on April 21, 2023, according to court records. Surveillance footage showed Heaton and Buza meeting outside a Meijer supermarket in Evansville that night before purchasing fishing gear and cleaning supplies.
When detectives searched Buza’s residence, they reported finding a blood-stained tackle box, a 9mm handgun – which matched the caliber of shell casings found at the crime scene – and a receipt, dated April 19, 2023, for a $2,000 cash withdrawal from Heaton’s bank account.
Buza was in Nashville, staying at a Hilton hotel, when police first searched his home. When Buza later discussed the trip with detectives, he claimed to have booked the hotel room under his own name as part of a long-planned vacation.
When police contacted Hilton, hotel staff informed them Buza’s room had actually been booked April 22, 2023, with Heaton’s hotel reward points. Buza’s name was added to the reservation after the fact.
A witness would go on to tell police that Buza, who had struggled financially, was “using Manny (Heaton) to piggy-back funds in order to have money,” a DNR detective wrote in a sworn affidavit. The witness also told detectives Buza’s American Express credit card listed Heaton as a guarantor.
Beyond the potential financial motive, physical and electronic evidence linked Buza to Heaton’s killing, prosecutors told jurors: Buza’s DNA was recovered from Heaton’s empty gun holster, which was attached to Heaton’s hip when sheriff’s deputies first located his body, and investigators linked the murder weapon to Buza, too.
An analysis of cellphone data likewise showed Buza’s and Heaton’s phones traveling to the Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area on the night of April 21, 2023, and both Buza and Heaton’s cellphones contacting towers from Buza’s home well after Buza claimed to have left Heaton at the preserve.
Online court records do not yet state when Buza will be sentenced.
Houston Harwood can be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Jury finds man guilty of 2023 murder at Warrick County wildlife park
Reporting by Houston Harwood, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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