PROVIDENCE – The man arrested last August after a crime spree that reportedly included multiple vehicle thefts, premeditated assault and robbery of an elderly woman, and fleeing from police in a high-speed pursuit pleaded guilty on Monday in Kent County Superior Court.
Steven Henning, 53, is facing charges in several Rhode Island towns, including Coventry, Burrillville, Smithfield and Woonsocket, for a week long series of crimes that reportedly began with assault of his girlfriend in Ohio, and ended when he returned to the place he’d left a woman to die with intent to bury her body.
According to reports, Henning’s criminal acts included theft of a vehicle from Pat’s Auto Service in Burrillville, and in Coventry, he followed a woman home from a Wendy’s and robbed her of jewelry and money. Henning then reportedly strangled the 80-year-old woman and put her body in the trunk of her own vehicle, driving to a wooded area in Smithfield ,and beating her until he believed she was dead.
Police say he hid the victim with branches, but she later woke up and found help. He was arrested by Smithfield police when he returned to the scene the following day.
Henning originally pled not guilty to his long list of charges, but retracted the plea during a pre-trial conference on Monday, June 16. He is scheduled for sentencing before Associate Justice Luis Matos on Friday, Sept. 12.
