Woman who claimed she was God found not responsible by reason of insanity in deadly Johnson County shooting

FRANKLIN, Ind. – A Johnson County woman believed she was God when she shot and killed her friend’s husband last year.

Because of that and her history of mental illness, a judge ruled she was not responsible by reason of insanity.

Alicia Haupt won’t go to prison for killing 35-year-old Jacob Harville. She had been charged with murder, attempted murder and pointing a firearm.

Johnson County Judge Andrew Roesener made the decision after overseeing Haupt’s bench trial. He also denied a state request for a firearms enhancement, as she was not convicted of murder.

On Feb. 5, 2024, a Johnson County sheriff’s deputy came across Haupt as she walked on the side of the road near a blue GMC Sierra. She told the deputy it wasn’t her vehicle and that it was “the man who I shot in the face’s truck.”

Haupt went on to claim that she was “God,” and that she had just killed Satan, something she was compelled to do “before he killed us all.”

The shooting happened in Urmeyville. Haupt told police she was “best friends” with Harville’s wife and lived with the couple.

According to court documents, she shot Harville in the head in front of his mother, telling her she was slaying the devil. She pointed the gun at Harville’s mother, but the gun jammed. She left and tossed the firearm in a ditch.

Haupt’s trial took place earlier this month. Roesener announced the verdict on Thursday. The judge determined Haupt had indeed committed the crimes of which she was accused. However, he ruled she couldn’t differentiate between right and wrong due to mental illness.

The decision came as no comfort to Harville’s family.

“Where do we in the society excuse crazy? They’re crazy people in this world. That gives them the right to kill people?” asked Ronald Harville, Jacob Harville’s father.

“This is not right. It’s not justice for my son, Jacob Harville,” he said. “It’s no justice whatsoever.”

According to the Daily Journal, court-appointed experts tasked with evaluating Haupt agreed she was insane on the day of the shooting. Prosecutors argued she should be held accountable for her actions.

Roesener directed the prosecutor’s office to file a petition of civil commitment, according to court records. She will eventually end up in a mental health facility.