Man charged with killing woman whose body was found in her submerged SUV

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - A man charged with killing a woman whose body was found in her submerged SUV in Indiana was arrested last Friday at a campsite in Nevada. Fifty-five-year-old Kenneth R. Pitts Jr. of Terre Haute, Indiana, waived extradition this week during a hearing in Las Vegas.

An affidavit says Pitts bludgeoned 77-year-old Alice "Anita" Oswald after she shot him during a burglary at her home. The affidavit says investigators believe Oswald came home Nov. 9, 2017, to find Pitts and two others in her basement. The affidavit says she shot Pitts in the face but, according to the Tribune Star newspaper, only wounded him. Police reportedly believe that Pitts then attacked her, possibly with a hatchet, and later set fire to the home in an effort to hide evidence.

According to the newspaper, Oswald had previously been the victim of crime and recently bought a gun. In fact, Pitts had been a suspect in a theft her home in January 2017. In the months leading up to her death, Oswald reportedly called police about multiple break-ins. She had reportedly vowed not to be a victim again and said she would shoot anyone she found in her home.

Oswald's SUV was pulled from a Vigo County, Indiana pond in January. Warrants charge Pitts with murder, burglary, arson and other crimes.

Pitts is expected to be returned to Indiana in June.