GUILTY OH - Two women & child killed, 13yo abducted, Apple Valley, 10 Nov 2010 #7

[grayjay]

My stomach is churning and I'm trembling. I now understand why those comments get taken down. The words are just too jarring to be spoken. An unspeakable crime. I don't need to know the particulars about his relationship with a minor, either. It's dreadful that she has to go back to school, and some crass and ignorant person might repeat something like that. It doesn't matter if it's true or not. It's all unspeakable for the victims and so unnecessary to getting justice.

 

[Cazzie]

This FB poster "CC" says everyone is welcome to use her photos of tonite's floating candle vigil for the 3 who are now gone.

link

 

[Betty P]

Because he's not suicidal.

I want to thank everyone on this board for all the kind words you've expressed about my community. I honestly am extremely proud to be from Mount Vernon. It's a shame we had to meet under such circumstances. :hug:

I plan on sticking around for awhile.

I do feel badly, not just for the families and friends of those lost, but for the people living in the communities. I've always enjoyed driving through the area, going to Mohican or touring Amish country shopping for antiques, etc. It's such a beautiful, pastoral, peaceful region. I'm so sorry that peace has been shattered and I hope everyone can recover eventually.

 

[SunGirl]

Sorry, away for a day and am still behind in reading all the posts from Tue/Wed. I feel awful after hearing this evening's news. I'm sure this is not the outcome everyone was hoping for; I (and I'm sure many others) had a bad feeling, but there is always that glimmer of hope one holds onto. My heart goes out to Tina, Kody and Stephanie's family and friends, especially to the brave girl Sarah, obviously she is going to need alot of love and support throughout the years to get through this tragedy. My sincere condolences to all involved with this terrible event.

Have a bunch of questions:

- Could mh have possibly met Tina and/or Stephanie through the tanning salon and/or health club?
- Stephanie worked at the same career center that mh attended, any time it overlapped?
- Any chance mh was rebuffed by either of these two women at any time in the past?
- Has been mentioned that Stephanie was spending more time at Tina's house. Makes sense to me that they were friends looking out for each other, and both were supposedly facing challenges regarding their home lives, and how to make that work in the future for their children and themselves as breadwinners. Maybe mh had been watching these women and children for quite awhile?

I hope what I read isn't true. A retired cop (supposedly) posted that you don't get 3 bodies handed to you without taking the death penalty off the table. He said that it's all they had to make a deal with probably. Is this likely true. :furious:

I am wondering what made mh start talking as well. Of course due process is extremely important to all of us in the USA, to me it seems like this is going to be one of those cases where the dp is certainly warranted! :sad:

 

[twall]

I bet the county public defender attorney told him that he still can get the death penalty even if the bodies were not ever found.

In Ohio, if LE has enough evidence that a homicide occurred without a body ever being found, the county prosecutor can file an aggravated murder charge seeking the death penalty.

And when the county prosecutor does charge Hoffman with three counts of aggravated murder and seeks the death penalty, I'm thinking that Hoffman will get another public defender from the state public defender office that specializes in death penalty cases.

Yes, you are correct, the Carrie Culberson case comes to mind. Her remains have never been found but her killer was charged with aggravated murder and the dp was on the table but the jury and court did not sentence him to death, he got LWOP.

A state-court jury convicted Vincent Doan of aggravated murder, with one death-penalty specification, and three counts of kidnapping. The court followed the recommendation of the jury and imposed a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the aggravated murder conviction and also imposed a nine-year prison term for the kidnapping convictions.

The bolded is from an appeal filed in his case.

http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/08a0428p-06.pdf

 

[Banshee]

She may not have to. If MH did this alone (and I believe he did), telling LE exactly where to find the remains is tantamount to a confession. If the prosecutor can convince MH's defense attorney that they have enough evidence to convict him, he may decide to plead guilty and no trial will be necessary. If that turns out to be the case, there will be no witnesses needed to testify.

I pray this is the case. Two of my family members were murdered, and the trial was very hard on us. Hearing the details of how the crime was committed was almost more than we could bear. The murderer was sentenced to death, but the whole thing was overturned on a technicality. Without consulting the family, the prosecutors decided to accept a plea bargain rather than go through the expense and trouble of another trial. However, the DP was taken off the table during the plea bargain, and the killer ended up with Life Without Parole. I would gladly have gone through another trial so that the killer could get what he deserved.

I would hate for a 13-year-old to have to go through the machinations of a trial and all it would entail.

 

[crocus]

Sarah, beyond being kidnapped, hearing, seeing and now the loss of her family........
I pray he did not rape her.........

Wouldn't he have been charged with criminal sexual abuse along with the kidnapping?

 

[Winnts]

"He loves trees" .......odd statement in post #88
someone KNOWS him very well, IMO

I agree, those weren't random statements. And the fact it was posted well before the bodies were found. And now it's pulled. Interesting.

 

[Ronso]

Not necessarily. I'm wondering if they're keeping some charges hush-hush until the trial. To protect the girl, I'd think. But *shrug* I don't know... I'm not familiar with the legal aspects when it comes to crimes of this nature.

 

[Smugshots]

Local 10tv said they spoke to Hoffman's mother who said she met with Hoffman last night and this morning. He did not tell her any specifics about the case, but he cried and was remorseful and that he told her that he was relieved when the police broke down the door on Sunday morning because he knew Sarah could go back to her family.

Really? Go back to her family, you mean her brother and mother you just murdered!!!

 

[Smugshots]

Not necessarily. I'm wondering if they're keeping some charges hush-hush until the trial. To protect the girl, I'd think. But *shrug* I don't know... I'm not familiar with the legal aspects when it comes to crimes of this nature.

My only hope at this point is that he didn't have the time or energy or whatever to do anything more horrible to Sarah than what we already know about. I pray there's nothing more.

 

[mikeysmommom]

Yes, you are correct, the Carrie Culberson case comes to mind. Her remains have never been found but her killer was charged with aggravated murder and the dp was on the table but the jury and court did not sentence him to death, he got LWOP.

A state-court jury convicted Vincent Doan of aggravated murder, with one death-penalty specification, and three counts of kidnapping. The court followed the recommendation of the jury and imposed a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the aggravated murder conviction and also imposed a nine-year prison term for the kidnapping convictions.

The bolded is from an appeal filed in his case.

http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/08a0428p-06.pdf

Local 10tv said they spoke to Hoffman's mother who said she met with Hoffman last night and this morning. He did not tell her any specifics about the case, but he cried and was remorseful and that he told her that he was relieved when the police broke down the door on Sunday morning because he knew Sarah could go back to her family.

Really? Go back to her family, you mean her brother and mother you just murdered!!!

Well somebody is a big liar! Either him or maybe mom just made that up so her monster son would seem almost human.

 

[Leila]

I used to live at Knox Lake too (now I'm in Mount Vernon) and this has just been horrible for the community. So many people are scared, including me.

Ronso............I can fully understand your fear and concern. I'm originally from a small town in upstate NY, where everyone knows everyone and most families have been there for generations.

When something like this happens, it pulls the rug out from under our feet. Our safety zone no longer seems safe and secure.

What has happened there is tragic, but at the same time we've all seen how the community came together each doing whatever they could to help. You should be very proud of the sense of community you have there.

Perhaps it would help ease fears in the the wake of this tragedy to hold some safety awareness programs or form neighborhood watches.

 

[Smugshots]

Well somebody is a big liar! Either him or maybe mom just made that up so her monster son would seem almost human.

I don't doubt he acted and said that, he was telling his mother what he thought she expected/wanted to hear.

I feel bad for his parents, I couldn't live with myself if my child did something like this. I imagine they'll be moving out of Apple Valley asap.

 

[crocus]

Knox county update: memorial at herrmann household... http://twitpic.com/382k0x http://twitpic.com/382k2a

 

[Cazzie]

ABC Nightline is going to have a segment on this case, tonight (it's on now, half hour show with other stories, too.

 

[peel]

perhaps his big plan was to torch the tree eventually....
....

 

[cluciano63]

If they don't need the added charge of sexual assault (assuming it occurred) maybe they won't have to use it, for Sarah's sake. I'm still hoping they can avoid a trial altogether, just a straight LWOP for three murders and kidnapping and whatever else he may have done.

 

[Deeemdee]

Well somebody is a big liar! Either him or maybe mom just made that up so her monster son would seem almost human.

The mom hasn't done anything to anyone.

 

[Lera213]

I'm sure Sarah will be able to finish her school at home via a computer. There is no way a school can expect her to attend any school right now. They even could fast track her to get her diploma.