A 19-year-old Indiana man who fatally shot a young father during a botched robbery outside a movie theater has been sentenced to 45 years in prison, but the victim’s grieving family says the punishment falls short, particularly after the killer refused to face them in court.
Deshawndre Brown learned his fate Monday, November 2, after pleading guilty to murder and robbery resulting in serious bodily injury in the April 14 killing of 23-year-old Ethan Stenftenagel outside an AMC theater in Evansville, Indiana.
The deadly encounter began as what was supposed to be a routine transaction involving marijuana vape cartridges. Instead, investigators say Brown arrived armed and intended to steal the merchandise rather than pay for it.
According to the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office, Brown and two other men, Kardae Langley, 19, and Pierce Butler, 18, arranged to meet Stenftenagel in the theater parking lot.
Langley later told detectives that Brown announced his robbery plans before the meeting. Once the men entered Stenftenagel’s Dodge Durango, an argument erupted over the merchandise, followed by gunfire.
Surveillance footage captured the disturbing aftermath. The Durango suddenly began circling the parking lot before rolling down a wooded embankment. Two men were seen fleeing the moving vehicle and escaping in a silver Lexus.
Deputies responding around 6:40 p.m. found Stenftenagel inside the SUV with gunshot wounds. Despite efforts to save him, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspects scattered, triggering an intensive investigation that stretched across state lines.
Langley was arrested within hours, while investigators tracked Brown to a hotel in St. Louis, Missouri, using surveillance technology. U.S. Marshals arrested him the following afternoon without incident. Butler was taken into custody later that evening following a police SWAT operation in Evansville.
Brown eventually accepted a plea agreement in October, admitting guilt to murder and felony robbery. Additional charges were dismissed as part of the deal.
Vanderburgh County Magistrate Ryan Reed sentenced him to 45 years for murder and another 16 years for robbery. Because the sentences will run concurrently, his combined prison term is 45 years.
But the sentencing brought another painful moment for Stenftenagel’s loved ones.
Rather than appearing before them in person, Brown participated in the hearing remotely by video. He also declined to make a statement or offer an apology, according to local television station WEHT.
Greg Davis, the father of Stenftenagel’s fiancée, Hope Davis, condemned the decision, saying he had wanted to look Brown in the eye.
“I think hiding behind a camera is very cowardice,” Davis told the station.
His frustration went beyond the courtroom appearance.
“There was no apology,” he said. “There was no remorse.”
For Hope, who shared two young children with Stenftenagel, the devastating loss is something no prison sentence can repair.
“Ethan was not a perfect person, but he did not have to be perfect and deserve to live,” she said.
She explained that their oldest child may retain some memories of her father, but their younger son will have to learn about him through photographs, videos and stories.
“It’s incredibly unfair to them,” she added.
Hope also described the heartbreaking moments when her daughter notices her crying and tries to comfort her, reminding her mother that she still has her two children.
While Brown’s sentencing closes one chapter of the case, two other defendants are still awaiting trial.
Langley is scheduled to stand trial in December, while Butler’s trial is set for February 2027. Both face murder and robbery-related charges and are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Vanderburgh County Sheriff Noah Robinson previously called the killing a senseless tragedy, warning that the decisions made that night destroyed multiple lives and left families struggling with the consequences.
For Stenftenagel’s loved ones, the anguish remains.
“The prison sentence has a tomorrow,” Greg Davis said. “Ethan does not. He’s gone forever. It’s unjust.”
Brown now faces decades behind bars, while two young children face a lifetime without their father.
