Woman handed 65 years in 2021 homicide

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - A Fort Wayne woman who pleaded guilty but mentally ill in the 2021 killing of a 20-year-old woman has been sentenced.

In court on Friday, a judge sentenced 24-year-old Valerie Hardiek to 65 years behind bars for the murder of Shelby Vonholdt.

Court documents say on June 20, 2021, Hardiek shot Vonholdt multiple times inside a home on Eileen Street. Vonholdt was able to call 911 and tell a dispatcher and a police sergeant who found her that “Valerie” shot her. Vonholdt died two days later and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the Allen County Coroner’s Office.

Hardiek was then arrested in Van Wert, Ohio after allegedly waving a gun at a gas station and pointing it at a customer.