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Donald Johnson Kentucky Death Row

Donald Johnson was sentenced to death by the State of Kentucky for the sexual assault and murder of a woman. According to court documents Donald Johnson would enter the Bright and Clean Laundry in Hazard Kentucky where he would sexually assault the clerk before murdering her. Johnson would rob the business before fleeing. Donald Johnson would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Kentucky Death Row Inmate List

Donald Johnson 2021 Information

Name:	JOHNSON, DONALD HERB Active Inmate DEATH ROW
PID # / DOC #:	239946 / 127510
Institution Start Date:	10/03/1997
Expected Time To Serve (TTS):	DEATH SENTENCE
Classification:	Maximum
Minimum Expiration of Sentence Date (Good Time Release Date): ?	DEATH SENTENCE
Parole Eligibility Date:	DEATH SENTENCE
Maximum Expiration of Sentence Date:	DEATH SENTENCE
Location:	Kentucky State Penitentiary
Age:	53
Race:	White
Gender:	M
Eye Color:	Blue
Hair Color:	Red or Auburn
Height:	6′ 03″
Weight:	205

Donald Johnson More News

Johnson was sentenced to death on October 1, 1997 in Floyd County for the stabbing death of Helen Madden. Ms. Madden’s body was found on November 30, 1989 at the Bright and Clean Laundry in Hazard where she was employed. It was determined that she had also been sexually assaulted. Johnson was arrested on December 01, 1989 and charged with murder, robbery, and burglary. The charge of 1st degree sexual assault was added later.

Donald Johnson Other News

In November 1989, “Helen Madden was beaten, stabbed, mutilated, and tortured to death in the supply storage room of the Laundromat where she worked. Her body was so disfigured that a co-worker of thirteen years was unable to identify her.” Johnson v. Commonwealth, 103 S.W.3d 687, 690 (Ky.2003). She had also been sexually assaulted Donald Johnson was arrested and prosecuted for the crimes.

In 1994, Donald Johnson appeared before a special judge, John David Caudill,¹ and entered an unconditional guilty plea to charges of murder, first-degree burglary, and two counts of first-degree sexual abuse. The prosecution, which was seeking the death penalty, asked for jury sentencing. Johnson opposed this and asked that the judge sentence him. Though he did not raise the issue at that time, Johnson now claims that he was induced to enter the guilty plea by a promise from Judge Caudill to give him less than the death penalty and his lawyer’s threat to withdraw from the representation. On an interlocutory appeal, this Court held that the prosecution “can insist on jury-recommended sentencing over a defendant’s objection.” Id. (citing Commonwealth v. Johnson, 910 S.W.2d 229 (Ky.1995)). The case was remanded for a jury sentencing hearing. Id.

After this Court remanded the case, Johnson moved to withdraw his guilty plea. At that time, he again did not raise any issue about an alleged promise by the trial judge to give him less than the death penalty. His motion was denied.

In 1997, a few months before the sentencing hearing, Johnson’s defense counsel, Mike Williams and Kelly Gleason, withdrew from his representation. They claimed to have been ineffective by failing to advise Johnson that he could have entered into a conditional guilty plea and that he had the right to a speedy trial. Another lawyer, Vince Yustas, was assigned to the case and represented Johnson at the sentencing hearing. According to Yustas, Williams and Gleason led him to believe the judge had either agreed to or in some way indicated that he would give Johnson life without the possibility of parole for 25 years (LWOP 25) instead of death. Yustas claimed he believed them and thus worked to get the prosecution to agree to judge sentencing instead of the jury sentencing it could demand. He was successful and ultimately the prosecution consented to sentencing “solely by the trial court without intervention of a jury.” Id.

Yustas admitted that shortly before the sentencing hearing was to be held, the prosecution stated that it would seriously consider an offer of LWOP 25 if Johnson would make one. Johnson made no such offer, however, and the matter proceeded to sentencing.

After the sentencing hearing, Judge Caudill sentenced Johnson to death. On direct appeal, this Court affirmed. Id. at 698.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ky-supreme-court/1643227.html

James Hunt Kentucky Death Row

James Hunt was sentenced to death by the State of Kentucky for the murder of his wife. According to court documents police would show up at a residence and find Bettina Hunt shot numerous times and dead at the scene. James and Bettina had separated weeks before due to domestic violence. James Hunt would track down his wife and break into the residence before shooting her multiple times. James Hunt would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Kentucky Death Row Inmate List

James Hunt 2021 Information

Name:	HUNT, JAMES Active Inmate DEATH ROW
PID # / DOC #:	120215 / 182954
Institution Start Date:	8/07/2006
Expected Time To Serve (TTS):	DEATH SENTENCE
Classification:	Maximum
Minimum Expiration of Sentence Date (Good Time Release Date): ?	DEATH SENTENCE
Parole Eligibility Date:	DEATH SENTENCE
Maximum Expiration of Sentence Date:	DEATH SENTENCE
Location:	Kentucky State Penitentiary
Age:	72
Race:	White
Gender:	M
Eye Color:	Hazel
Hair Color:	Gray or Partially Gray
Height:	5′ 6 “
Weight:	130

James Hunt More News

James Hunt was sentenced to death on July 28, 2006 in Floyd County for burglary I, wanton endangerment in the 1st degree, and the murder of Bettina Hunt, his estranged wife. On November 30, 2004 when the officers arrived at the scene they found the body of Bettina Hunt with bullet wounds to the arms, cheek area of the face, and a wound between the bridge of her nose and left eye. The victim’s infant granddaughter was also in the home. The victim was pronounced dead at the residence. Troopers were advised that Bettina Hunt’s estranged husband was involved in a one-vehicle accident approximately 200 feet from the residence. Upon further investigation and collection of evidence, James Hunt was lodged in the Pike County Detention Center and charged with murder. Trail began on May 15, 2006. The jury returned a verdict of guilt to murder, burglary, burglary 1st degree, and wanton endangerment 1st degree. James Hunt was sentenced to death on the murder charge. Hunt consented to allow the court to sentence him on the remaining charges.

James Hunt Other News

Hunt and the victim, Bettina Hunt, were married in 1991. During their relationship the couple had recurring problems. Bettina had petitioned for domestic violence protective orders against Hunt in 1998 and 2002. She filed for divorce in 2002, and again in July 2004-four months prior to her murder.

In the months before the murder, the couple was again having considerable problems. Much of the strain was related to Bettina’s preoccupation with her drug-addicted daughter from a prior marriage, Veronica Harris, and Veronica’s newborn baby, Katrina. Katrina was born prematurely and suffered from severe health problems requiring round-the-clock care. After the baby’s birth, Bettina gained custody of the child and during the months preceding her murder spent much of her time taking care of the infant.

In November 2004, Bettina was separated from Hunt and lived with Katrina at a residence owned by her mother located on Buck Branch Road in Floyd County, Kentucky. Her former sister-in-law, Lula Dillon, came to the residence five to six days a week to help Bettina take care of Katrina, and was there on Tuesday, November 30, 2004. Lula testified that Hunt called several times that day, including a call that came in at about 6:20 to 6:25 p.m. Lula noted that the conversation was argumentative, and that Bettina told Hunt she intended to see a divorce lawyer in a few days and wanted to go through with the divorce. Lula left the residence, just after the phone conversation ended.

Shortly thereafter, Bettina placed a call to her brother.¹ He was not home, and Bettina ended up speaking with her sister-in-law, Karen Chaffins. The two talked at length about a variety of issues involving Hunt. A few minutes after 7:00 p.m., Bettina told Karen that “he”-meaning Hunt-was at the door, that she would send him away, and would then call Karen right back.² According to phone records, that phone call ended at 7:05 p.m.

Three minutes later, at 7:08 p.m., Bettina called 911. A recording of the call began when emergency dispatch personnel answered the line; however, it appears that Bettina was unaware that the call had been answered, as she did not communicate the emergency to the 911 operator.

On the 911 recording, a threatening male voice and a panicked female voice can be heard. The male voice can be heard saying, “maybe if I shoot you-you (inaudible).” The female voice is heard pleading with the man-stating in a terrified tone-“no, I promise” and “stop-please no.” After additional inaudible conversation and commotion, the same threat to shoot the woman is repeated, and again the woman is heard begging for her life. Subsequently, a gunshot is heard. The woman can be heard crying hysterically and frantically screaming. A second shot is then heard, followed by silence.

A short time later and only a few hundred feet from the murder scene, Hunt ran his car off of a bridge. The vehicle landed upside down and became partially submerged in the creek below. Various passers-by stopped to assist Hunt. When one of them, Judy Flannery, first observed Hunt, she noticed that he held something in his left hand. Hunt walked behind a nearby tree and when he reemerged, his hands were empty. The next day Judy’s husband, Rabon Flannery, searched the area near the tree where Judy believed she saw Hunt leave something. Rabon found a silver Smith & Wesson .357 revolver later determined to be the murder weapon, in the creek. The confirmation that the weapon was the murder weapon was based upon a matching of the weapon to spent rounds discovered at the murder scene.

Soon after the shooting, police officers arrived at the scene of the wreck and arrested Hunt, who was visibly intoxicated. He denied any knowledge of the nearby shooting. His vehicle was pulled from the creek. While walking around the vehicle, Detective Dwayne Price observed a shell casing resting on the rubber window seal where the glass for the passenger-side window opens and closes. Price took possession of the shell casing. Later testing determined it to have been fired from the murder weapon. Similarly, ballistics testing of other shell casings found at the murder scene determined that they were fired from the same weapon. The spent rounds were of a relatively unusual type of .38 caliber ammunition.³ It was later determined that Hunt had several unspent rounds of the same unusual ammunition in his jacket pocket.

Other forensic evidence also linked Hunt to the murder. For example, the clothing worn by Hunt on the date of the murder was examined by forensic experts. DNA testing conclusively determined that blood found on Hunt’s jacket in two locations was Bettina’s. In addition, blood taken from a juice bottle located on Bettina’s kitchen table was conclusively linked to Hunt. Similarly, blood from part of a t-shirt stuffed inside the bottle and a band-aid attached to the bottle were also matched to Hunt.⁴

Hunt was originally indicted only for murder and first-degree burglary. A superseding indictment adding first-degree wanton endangerment as a charge was later returned. A jury trial was held beginning May 15, 2006, and concluding June 1, 2006. Hunt’s defense was that someone else committed the crimes. Following the presentation of evidence, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all three charges. Hunt was sentenced to death on the murder charge, and to twenty years and five years, respectively, on the burglary and wanton endangerment charges. This appeal followed. We address the twenty-four enumerated issues raised by Hunt in the order they are presented in his brief.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ky-supreme-court/1505613.html

Benny Hodge Kentucky Death Row

Benny Hodge was sentenced to death by the State of Kentucky for the murder of a woman during a robbery. According to court documents Benny Hodge and Roger Epperson entered a home in Kentucky. Once inside they choked a male occupant unconscious before stabbing the man’s daughter to death. Benny Hodge and Roger Epperson were both arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. Roger Epperson is currently going through a resentencing and is no longer listed as being on Kentucky’s death row

Kentucky Death Row Inmate List

Benny Hodge 2021 Information

Name:	HODGE, BENNY LEE Active Inmate DEATH ROW	Offender Photo(Click image to enlarge)
PID # / DOC #:	215174 / 032835
Institution Start Date:	6/21/1986
Expected Time To Serve (TTS):	DEATH SENTENCE
Classification:	Maximum
Minimum Expiration of Sentence Date (Good Time Release Date): ?	DEATH SENTENCE
Parole Eligibility Date:	DEATH SENTENCE
Maximum Expiration of Sentence Date:	DEATH SENTENCE
Location:	Kentucky State Penitentiary
Age:	69
Race:	White
Gender:	M
Eye Color:	Hazel
Hair Color:	Brown
Height:	6′ 1 “
Weight:	205

Benny Hodge More News

Hodge was sentenced to death on June 20, 1986 in Letcher County along with Roger Epperson for the murder of Tammy Acker. The murder occurred when Hodge and two accomplices entered the home of a Fleming-Neon, Kentucky physician on the night of August 8, 1985. They choked the man unconscious, and stabbed his daughter, Tammy Acker, to death while robbing him of $1.9 million, handguns, and jewelry. He was arrested in Florida on August 15, 1985. He also received a second death sentence on November 22, 1996 for the murder and robbery of Bessie and Edwin Morris in their home in Gray Hawk, Kentucky on June 16, 1985.

Benny Hodge Other News

Hodge and two others posed as Federal Bureau of Investigation agents to gain entry to the home of a doctor. Once inside, they strangled the doctor into unconsciousness, stabbed his college-aged daughter to death, and stole around $2 million in cash, as well as jewelry and guns, from a safe. A jury convicted Hodge and a codefendant of murder and related charges. Epperson v. Commonwealth, 809 S. W. 2d 835, 837 (Ky. 1990). In advance of the penalty phase of his trial, Hodge’s counsel conducted no investigation into potential mitigation evidence and presented no evidence to the jury. The Commonwealth did not put on evidence of aggravating circumstances either, beyond the facts of the crime. Instead, the parties agreed that the jury should be read this stipulation: ” ‘Benny Lee Hodge has a loving and supportive family–a wife and three children. He has a public job work record and he lives and resides permanently in Tennessee.’ ” App. to Pet. for Cert. 5. After hearing argument from counsel on both sides, the jury recommended a sentence of death, which the trial court imposed.

On postconviction review in Kentucky state court, Hodge alleged that his counsel had been ineffective during the penalty phase for failing to investigate, discover, and present readily available mitigation evidence concerning his childhood, which was marked by extreme abuse. Hodge was granted an evidentiary hearing, during which he presented extensive mitigation evidence and the testimony of expert psychologists. The Commonwealth did not contest Hodge’s evidence, although it did not concede that all the evidence would have been available or admissible at the time of trial. The Kentucky Supreme Court credited the evidence and found it would have been available at the time of trial. The evidence established the following:

The beatings began in utero. Hodge’s father battered his mother while she carried Hodge in her womb, and continued to beat her once Hodge was born, even while she held the infant in her arms. When Hodge was a few years older, he escaped his mother’s next husband, a drunkard, by staying with his stepfather’s parents, bootleggers who ran a brothel. His mother next married Billy Joe. Family members described Billy Joe as a ” ‘monster.’ ” Id., at 7. Billy Joe controlled what little money the family had, leaving them to live in abject poverty. He beat Hodge’s mother relentlessly, once so severely that she had a miscarriage. He raped her regularly. And he threatened to kill her while pointing a gun at her. All of this abuse occurred while Hodge and his sisters could see or hear. And following many beatings, Hodge and his sisters thought their mother was dead.

Billy Joe also targeted Hodge’s sisters, molesting at least one of them. But according to neighbors and family members, as the only male in the house, Hodge bore the brunt of Billy Joe’s anger, especially when he tried to defend his mother and sisters from attack. Billy Joe often beat Hodge with a belt, sometimes leaving imprints from his belt buckle on Hodge’s body. Hodge was kicked, thrown against walls, and punched. Billy Joe once made Hodge watch while he brutally killed Hodge’s dog. On another occasion, Billy Joe rubbed Hodge’s nose in his own feces.

The abuse took its toll on Hodge. He had been an average student in school, but he began to change when Billy Joe entered his life. He started stealing around age 12, and wound up in juvenile detention for his crimes. There, Hodge was beaten routinely and subjected to frequent verbal and emotional abuse. After assaulting Billy Joe at age 16, Hodge returned to juvenile detention, where the abuse continued. Hodge remained there until he was 18. Over the 16 years between his release from juvenile detention and the murder, Hodge committed various theft crimes that landed him in prison for about 13 of those years. He twice escaped, but each time, he was recaptured.

Psychologists who testified at Hodge’s evidentiary hearing, and were credited by the court below, explained that the degree of domestic violence Hodge suffered was extremely damaging to his development. The environment caused ” ‘hypervigilance’ “–a state of constant anxiety that left Hodge always ” ‘waiting for the next shoe to fall.’ ” Pet. for Cert. 7. It taught him ” ‘that the world was a hostile place and that he was not going to be able to count on anybody else to protect him’ “–not his family and not society. Id., at 8. Being taken to a juvenile facility only to be beaten more likely hit Hodge as a ” ‘double betrayal.’ ” Id., at 9. The result was that Hodge had posttraumatic stress disorder. Unable to control his behavior and his emotions because of PTSD, he turned to drugs and alcohol to numb his feelings. This condition could have been diagnosed at the time of his trial.

The Commonwealth conceded that counsel was deficient for failing to gather and present this evidence at the penalty phase of Hodge’s trial. But it contended that Hodge would have been sentenced to death even if the evidence had been presented. Examining the evidence, the Kentucky Supreme Court had “no doubt that Hodge, as a child, suffered a most severe and unimaginable level of physical and mental abuse.” App. to Pet. for Cert. 11. Yet it felt “compelled to reach the conclusion that there exists no reasonable probability that the jury would not have sentenced Hodge to death” anyway. Ibid.

The Court based its conclusion in part on the aggravating circumstances against which the jury would have had to weigh the mitigation evidence. The murder itself was “calculated and exceedingly cold-hearted.” Id., at 9. Hodge stabbed the daughter “at least ten times,” and he “coolly” told his codefendant that he knew the daughter “was dead because the knife had gone ‘all the way through her to the floor.’ ” Id., at 10. Hodge’s conduct after the murder was shocking as well: He and the two other robbers “brazenly spent the stolen money on a lavish lifestyle and luxury goods, including a Corvette,” and Hodge told a cellmate he had “sprea[d] all the money out on a bed and ha[d] sex with his girlfriend on top of it.” Ibid. Moreover, had Hodge put on evidence in mitigation, the Commonwealth may have sought to introduce evidence of Hodge’s “long and increasingly violent criminal history, his numerous escapes from custody, and the obvious failure of several rehabilitative efforts.” Id., at 9.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/11-10974.html

Randy Haight Kentucky Death Row

Randy Haight was sentenced to death by the State of Kentucky for a double murder following a prison escape. According to court document Randy Haight broke out of the Johnson County Jail with another inmate. The bodies of Patricia Vance and David Omer were found dead inside of their car. Randy Haight would be arrested days later, convicted and sentenced to death

Kentucky Death Row Inmate List

Randy Haight 2021 Information

Name:	HAIGHT, RANDY Active Inmate DEATH ROW
PID # / DOC #:	207803 / 086706
Institution Start Date:	10/14/1981
Expected Time To Serve (TTS):	DEATH SENTENCE
Classification:	Maximum
Minimum Expiration of Sentence Date (Good Time Release Date): ?	DEATH SENTENCE
Parole Eligibility Date:	DEATH SENTENCE
Maximum Expiration of Sentence Date:	DEATH SENTENCE
Location:	Kentucky State Penitentiary
Age:	68
Race:	White
Gender:	M
Eye Color:	Blue
Hair Color:	Brown
Height:	5′ 08″
Weight:	155

Randy Haight More News

Randy Haight escaped from the Johnson County Jail August 18, 1985 with his girlfriend and another male inmate. He was there while awaiting trials in three counties. He stole guns and several cars; shot at a KY. State Police Trooper and caused another police officer’s death in a gunfight. He executed a young couple while they were inside their car. He shot the man in the face, chest, shoulder, and back of the head and shot the woman in the shoulder, temple, the back of the head, and through the eye. He spent all but two of his 15 adult years in four Ohio, three Virginia, and four Kentucky prisons.

Randy Height was sentenced to death March 22, 1994 for the murder of Patricia Vance and David Omer on August 22, 1985.

http://www.lexingtonprosecutor.com/court-info/deathrow/

Randy Haight Other News

Haight was sentenced to death on March 22, 1994 in Jefferson County for the murder of Patricia Vance and David Omer on August 22, 1985. Haight escaped from Johnson County Jail on August 18, 1985 with his girlfriend and another male inmate while awaiting trial. The bodies of Vance and Omer were discovered inside their car near Herrington Lake in Garrard County. Haight was apprehended in a cornfield in Mercer County on August 23, 1985.

Johnathan Goforth Kentucky Death Row

Johnathan Goforth was sentenced to death by the State of Kentucky for the murder of an elderly woman. According to court documents Johnathan Goforth and Virginia Caudill would enter an elderly woman’s home and beat the 73 year old woman to death. The pair would then place her body into her truck, drive it to a remote location and set it on fire. Both Johnathan Goforth and Virginia Caudill would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Kentucky Death Row Inmate List

Johnathan Goforth 2021 Information

Name:	GOFORTH, JOHNATHON WAYNE Active Inmate DEATH ROW
PID # / DOC #:	244653 / 127520
Institution Start Date:	3/31/2000
Expected Time To Serve (TTS):	DEATH SENTENCE
Classification:	Maximum
Minimum Expiration of Sentence Date (Good Time Release Date): ?	DEATH SENTENCE
Parole Eligibility Date:	DEATH SENTENCE
Maximum Expiration of Sentence Date:	DEATH SENTENCE
Location:	Kentucky State Penitentiary
Age:	60
Race:	White
Gender:	M
Eye Color:	Blue
Hair Color:	Brown
Height:	5′ 11″
Weight:	225

Johnathan Goforth More News

Goforth was sentenced to death on March 24, 2000 in Fayette County for murder, robbery I, burglary I, arson II, and tampering with physical evidence. On March 15, 1998, Goforth and accomplice Virginia Caudill entered the home of a 73 year old female, beat her to death and then burglarized her home. They then placed her body in the truck of her own vehicle and drove her to a rural area in Fayette County and set the car on fire.

Johnathan Goforth Other News

Lonetta White, age 73, was bludgeoned to death in her home in Lexington, Kentucky, during the early morning hours of March 15, 1998. Her body was found in the trunk of her burning automobile in a field several miles away. Her home was ransacked and numerous items of personal property, including two guns, jewelry, and a mink coat were stolen. Appellants Caudill and Goforth admitted they were present at the commission of all of these crimes. Each, however, accused the other of murdering and robbing the victim and of setting fire to the automobile.

Caudill had been living with the victim’s son, Steve White, but had moved out of his house on either March 13 or 14 following an argument concerning Caudill’s drug use. Caudill went to a nearby “crack house,” a residence where drug users gathered to buy, sell, and ingest controlled substances, especially crack cocaine. There she encountered Goforth, a casual acquaintance whom she had not seen for about fifteen years. Caudill testified that, on the afternoon of March 14, Goforth gave her a ride to Mrs. White’s residence and that Caudill induced White to give her twenty or thirty dollars on the pretext that she needed the money to rent a room for the night. Instead, she returned to the crack house and used the money to purchase crack cocaine. At about 3:00 a.m. on March 15, Caudill and Goforth returned to Mrs. White’s residence.

According to Caudill, she went to the door and told Mrs. White that she needed more money for the room rental. Goforth remained out of sight near the garage. When Mrs. White turned away to retrieve the money, Goforth burst through the door and attacked her without warning. Caudill did not identify the weapon used by Goforth but remembered that, during the course of the attack, Mrs. White pleaded with her to “please help me, Virginia.” Goforth then took Caudill to a bedroom and bound her hands together. After killing White, Goforth ransacked the residence, loaded the jewelry, guns, and mink coat into his pickup truck, and wrapped the body in a carpet. He then prevailed upon Caudill to help him carry the body to the garage and load it into the trunk of Mrs. White’s automobile. The two then drove both vehicles to a vacant field where Goforth doused Mrs. White’s vehicle with gasoline and set it afire.

According to Goforth, Caudill induced Mrs. White to admit them into her residence under the pretext that they were having car trouble and needed to use White’s telephone. Once inside, Caudill demanded that Mrs. White give her some money. When White refused, Caudill unexpectedly produced a roofer’s hammer that she had surreptitiously removed from Goforth’s pickup truck and struck White in the back of the head with full force. When Goforth asked Caudill why she had struck Mrs. White, Caudill struck her again. As Caudill continued to bludgeon the victim with the hammer, Goforth went into the living room, sat down on a sofa, and pondered what he should do next. Caudill ransacked the victim’s residence and loaded the stolen property into Goforth’s pickup truck. She wrapped Mrs. White’s body in the carpet. At Caudill’s request, Goforth helped carry the body to the garage and load it into the trunk of White’s automobile. They then drove both vehicles to a vacant field where Caudill doused White’s automobile with gasoline and set it afire.

Cynthia Ellis, a jailhouse informant, testified that Caudill told her that she had gone to White’s residence to obtain money to buy drugs. When White refused her request for money, Caudill struck White twice in the head with a clock that she pulled off the wall. Julia Davis, another jailhouse informant, testified that Caudill told her that she broke into the victim’s home intending to steal money to buy drugs, but when the victim discovered her presence, she killed her, stole her guns and jewelry, and set fire to her car. Davis also testified that Caudill said White had pleaded with her to “[h]elp me, why are you doing this to me?”

Because of her known relationship with the victim’s son, Caudill was questioned by police about the murder on the evening of March 15, 1998. She denied any involvement in the crimes and told the police that she had been with Goforth when the crimes were committed. The police unsuccessfully attempted to contact Goforth at his residence and left a message there for Goforth to contact them. Instead, Goforth and Caudill fled Fayette County. They spent several days at a cabin near Herrington Lake in Mercer County, then moved to Ocala, Florida, then to Gulfport, Mississippi. Caudill left Goforth in Gulfport and moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, where she was subsequently arrested November 11, 1998. She gave another statement at that time in which she admitted her presence at the scene of the crimes but named Goforth as the perpetrator. Goforth was arrested and questioned in Gulfport, Mississippi, on December 8, 1998. He claimed Caudill killed Mrs. White with the hammer and, further, that an unidentified African-American male had assisted Caudill in the commission of the crimes (an assertion he admitted at trial was a fabrication). After her extradition to Kentucky, Caudill gave a third statement to police on December 9, 1998, which was substantially the same as her second statement.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ky-supreme-court/1333320.html