Daughter Of Prominent Ex-Education Czar Murdered In Indiana By Husband While Children Present, Cops Say

An Indiana man is behind bars after he was accused of shooting up his family’s home, killing his wife and leaving the woman’s 11-year-old daughter and the child's 10-year-old friend “traumatized,” officials said.

Around 7:45 p.m. on April 1, the older girl phoned 911 after Mac Lewis, 45, allegedly began firing a weapon in the Sellersburg residence, striking his wife, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennett Lewis, 32, multiple times, WTHR reported, citing the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

“She had called while [the suspect] was still actively firing his gun throughout the house and ultimately shooting and killing her mother,” the sheriff’s office said.

The mother of two died at the scene from her multiple injuries, and Mac Lewis had fled the home by the time emergency responders arrived, the sheriff’s office said.

A short time later, Sellersburg police located and stopped the suspect’s vehicle, taking him into custody without incident, law enforcement officials said.

Mac Lewis faces felony charges of murder, attempted murder, and criminal recklessness and was being held without bond, the Louisville Courier Journal reported.

According to Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Jeremy Mull, the accused could be charged with additional crimes for allegedly discharging a firearm while the two girls were in close proximity.

“They are obviously traumatized,” Mull said of the children, WAVE reported.

The victim was the daughter of former Indiana State Superintendent of Public Instruction and former Florida Commissioner of Education Tony Bennett, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.

In a statement, the Bennett family called the incident a “senseless act of violence” and said the victim was an “amazing mother, a devoted sister and a beloved daughter.”

“Lizzie gave her short life to caring and helping others. Her choice of becoming a nurse was just an extension of her desire to make the world a better place for everyone,” the family said. “She will be missed by her two children and all that knew her.”