Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. To keep creating
new content, we kindly appreciate any donation you can give to help
the Murderpedia project stay alive. We have many
plans and enthusiasm
to keep expanding and making Murderpedia a better site, but we really
need your help for this. Thank you very much in advance.
"Willie
James Hodges you are adjudicated guilty and sentenced to death by lethal
injection."
There was
no reaction from Willie Hodges as Judge Terry Terrell sentenced him to
die for the 2001 murder of Patricia Belanger.
"She was
really looking forward to spending time with us on the day she was
murdered. It was taken from her and we miss her very much." Belanger's
daughter, Deborah Taylor and her son, Brooks Clements were in the
courtroom when Hodges was sentenced. They've been there through it all,
"It's been over seven years since she was murdered, over five years
since he was arrested," says Clements. He calls today's sentencing a
milestone. "We can try to move on don't know if we can ever say we've
got closure or we'll ever get past it but I guess I'm satisfied with the
outcome today."
This case
may be over but this isn't the only murder charges Hodges faces. "This
is an individual that is now facing murder charges in Cincinnati and
Alabama." says Assistant State Attorney John Molchan. "Those cases were
part of our investigation and part of the prosecution in this particular
case."
The death
sentence carries with it an automatic appeal. An appeal defense attorney
Martin Lester says has a good chance of succeeding. "Every IQ test he
has ever taken in his life was below 70. There was expert testimony that
his IQ fell into the category of mildly retarded."
It will be
up to the Florida Supreme Court to make that decision. For Belanger's
family, the healing can begin. "Just as a family we want to kind of move
forward and think about good memories rather than constantly looking
forward to what's the next criminal proceeding that we have to go
through," says Clements.
Hodges is
wanted in the murder of an elderly woman in Gainesville, Alabama just a
few weeks before Belanger was killed and he is also wanted in the 2003
murder of an Ohio woman.
Hodges sentenced to die
February 12, 2009
Willie James Hodges sat still and
quiet in the courtroom Thursday as a judge declared that he should die
by lethal injection.
Circuit Judge Terry Terrell
sentenced Hodges, 48, of Epps, Ala., to death for the murder of Patricia
Belanger, 58, of Pensacola.
“May God have mercy on your soul,”
Terrell said as Thursday’s hearing ended.
Found in her Mayfair home on Dec.
19, 2001, Belanger was beaten with a hammer and her neck was pierced
with a steak knife. Hodges was convicted of the Belanger murder in March
2008.
Hodges is facing charges in two
other murders.
He is also charged with shooting
Winnie Johnson, 66, of Sumter County, Ala., while burglarizing her home
in 2001. He’s also accused of raping and stabbing Laverne Jansen, 81, of
Cincinnati in 2003.
A victim’s advocate with the State
Attorney’s Office placed her hand on the shoulder of Belanger’s daughter,
Deborah Taylor, as Terrell made his ruling. The family members declined
to comment after the hearing.
The Florida Supreme Court
automatically reviews death penalty cases, and appeals can take many
years.
Defense attorney Marty Lester said
he expects the appeal to focus on whether Hodges meets the legal
standard for mental retardation, which would mean he could not be
executed.
Terrell decided that was not the
case, saying that Hodges carried on normal activities despite his IQ in
the mid-to-upper 60s.
Prosecutor John Molchan noted that
Hodges had romantic relationships, held steady jobs and possessed an
eloquent writing ability.
Terrell also said Hodges displayed
ingenuity when he jammed a chair in the front door of Belanger’s home so
no one could gain access. And, the judge said, Hodges dropped several
photographs of his cousin at Belanger’s home in an apparent attempt to
shift blame.
The crime remained unsolved until
2003 when an investigator recognized one of the people in the
photographs found at the Belanger home. The man in the picture, Vonkish
Golden, is Hodges’ cousin.
When investigators questioned
Golden, they learned that Hodges often stayed with his family. Both men
were related to Richard Ptomy, Belanger’s neighbor.
Authorities matched a fingerprint
found at the crime scene to that of Hodges.
Suspect in Elderly Women Murder
September 25, 2004
Cincinnati Police say a serial killer is to blame for a murder that
shocked a west side neighborhood. 44-year-old Willie Hodges, already
jailed on murder charges in Florida and Alabama, has now been charged
with the killing of 81-year-old Laverne Jansen.
Jansen
was killed in March 2003. It appeared that someone had followed Jansen
home and beaten her to death in her Covedale apartment. Hodges was named
as a suspect some months ago; now police say they have enough evidence
for charges. He is currently in jail in Pensacola, FL. The other
killings he is suspected of also involved older women.
Murder
charge fits a pattern
September 24, 2004
Cincinnati Police Chief is convinced that Willie Hodges (44) is a serial
killer. Hodges, charged Thursday with stabbing to death 81-year-old
Laverne Jansen in her home last year is also accused of killing women in
Alabama and Florida.
A warrant
was issued for Hodges on charges of aggravated murder and rape, alleging
Hodges killed Laverne Jansen in March 2003.Hodges is being held in the Escambia County Jail in Pensacola, Fla., where he was arrested in
September 2003, on unrelated burglary charges.
In
Escambia County, Hodges was charged with capital murder, accused of
beating Patricia Belanger (58) to death with a hammer on Dec. 19, 2001,
in her Pensacola home. He is awaiting trial.
After
hearing about the Florida case, authorities in Sumter, Ala., charged
Hodges Sept. 8 with capital murder for the Nov. 26, 2001, homicide of Winnie Johnson, 66. Johnson was shot to death during a daytime burglary
of her home.
Cincinnati police think Hodges followed Jansen home in March 2003 and
stabbed, bit and raped her in the daytime attack. There were bite marks
on at least two victims.
Hodges
spent a little over a year in an Ohio prison after he was convicted of
robbery in Hamilton County in 1999. Hodges followed an older woman home
from a bank and then stole her purse, according to Cincinnati police.
Cincinnati police say they suspect him in dozens of purse-snatchings,
robberies and beatings of women on the West Side from 1998 through 2003.
Suspected serial killer located in Florida
September 22, 2004
Nearly
three years after her murder, officials have arrested the man they
believe is responsible for Winnie Johnson's death.
Johnson
was shot to death Nov. 26, 2001 in her home in Gainesville. On Sept. 8,
the Sumter County Sheriff's Office issued a warrant for the arrest of
Willie Hodges of Epes on charges of capital murder.
Hodges is
being held in the Escambia County Jail in Pensacola, Fla., on charges of
the murder of a Florida woman.
Griggers
said Florida investigators learned of Hodges' Sumpter County ties and
called the Sumpter County Sheriff's Department..."Once they realized he
had ties to Sumpter County, they made an inquiry," Griggers said. "They
started talking about the case, and they realized there were a lot of
similarities in the two cases."
That
inquiry somehow turned up another interested party as the Cincinnati,
Ohio, police wanted Hodges for questioning in yet another murder case
they were investigating.
"He's a
serial murderer," Griggers said. "There is a good chance he has
committed other murders that we don't know about."
Though
the warrant has been issued, Griggers said nothing is going to be done
about Hodges until the case in Pensacola is determined.
"Our plan
right now is to wait," he said. "I've discussed the case with Sheriff
(Johnny) Hatter and we've decided to hold the warrant and put a hold on
Hodges. The case in Florida could go to court as early as spring 2005.
We'll wait to see the outcome of that trial, and if we're not pleased
with the outcome, then we will go on and arrest him and start our
proceedings."
The
problem with trying to make the arrest and start the case now, Griggers
said, is that for every hearing including bond hearings, preliminary
hearings, motions and more, Hodges would have to be transported from
Pensacola to Sumpter County and back.
"Any
hearing would require his presence and we would have to take him back
and forth, I would like to spare the residents that expense," Griggers
said.
Should
Hodges be found guilty in Florida, the local area would be saved even
more expense. Because Hodges is being tried for capital murder there, if
convicted, the possible sentence is either life in prison or the death
penalty. Either way a trial here would be pointless.
"There is
a reasonable likelihood he will get the death penalty there," Griggers
said.
Though
the arrest comes three years after the murder, Griggers said that is not
because of lack of work on investigators' parts.
"I have
to commend Sherriff Hatter and investigator Howard Rhodes from the
Sumter County Sheriff's Department and Darren Blake of the ABI because
they just didn't give up," Griggers said. "Their tenaciousness just
wouldn't let this murder go unsolved."
The
investigation increased in intensity after the Florida arrest.
"Since
Hodge's arrest in Florida, Sumter County Sheriff's Office investigators
and ABI agents have been collecting evidence and interviewing
witnesses," a Sumter County Sheriff's press release stated. "Sumter
County and state investigators have followed leads through three states
and numerous jurisdictions."
Most of
that search has centered around a quest to find the murder weapon, the
release stated.
"For more
than two and a half years investigators have searched for the murder
weapon in the Johnson case, a .270-caliber high-powered rifle. Area
bodies of water have been searched by scuba divers. An old well near
Hodges residence was excavated and searched," the release stated.
"Sumter County deputies conducted an exhaustive search which finally
ended in success on Sept. 2. The Sumter County Sheriff's Office received
information about the whereabouts of the murder weapon and was able to
recover the rifle from a north Alabama man who bought the rifle from a
resident of Boligee."
According
to the release, the gun can be traced to Willie Hodges through witness
statements and documentary evidence.
Other
witnesses have come forward and provided additional information as well,
and officials feel they have a good chance of convicting should the case
come to Sumter County.
Patricia Belanger, age 58, beaten to death with a hammer and stabbed in
the neck in her own home on December 19, 2001
LaVern Jansen, age 81, rapped and stabbed to death in 2003.
