Wright pleads guilty of killing girl

February 10, 2011

COLUMBIA CITY — The teenager accused of killing a 14-year-old Whitley County girl in March of 2010 has pleaded guilty but mentally ill in Whitley County Circuit Court.
Joshua M. Wright, 18, appeared in court Thursday to change his plea on four counts related to the rape and murder of Kaylin Doggendorf.
If Whitley County Circuit Court Judge James Heuer accepts the change of plea agreement between prosecutors and Wright's defense, Wright could possibly receive a 100-year prison term.
Sentencing is set for March 28 at 9 a.m. in Whitley County Circuit Court.
In the change of plea agreement entered into court, Wright, through his attorney Brad Voelz, pleaded guilty to murder, with an agreed sentence of 62 years; rape, a Class B felony with an agreed sentence of 18 years; burglary, a Class B felony with an agreed sentence of 18 years; and removal of a body, a Class D felony with an agreed sentence of two years.
If Heuer agrees to the conditions and issues the agreed sentence, all four sentences will be issued as consecutive, bringing the total jail time to a century.
In exchange for the change of plea, the prosecution agreed to drop the felony murder charge and to not seek a life sentence without parole.
A complete story with reaction from the Doggendorf will be published in Friday's Post & Mail.