Henry Eugene Hodges (born August 16, 1966) is an American convicted serial killer and former sex worker who was found guilty in both Tennessee and Georgia of three murders. Hodges confessed to murdering at least eight men, most of whom were homosexual, between 1988 and 1990. He was tried for three murders: stabbing 34-year-old Barry McDonald in Tennessee on July 14, 1989; robbing and killing 37-year-old Ronald Bassett in Tennessee on May 14, 1990; and strangling 32-year-old Michael Whisnant in Georgia on May 16, 1990.
Hodges was arrested two days after murdering Whisnant. In Tennessee, he was sentenced to death for the murder of Ronald Bassett, while he received two life sentences for the other two killings in Georgia and Tennessee. He is currently on death row at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, awaiting execution.
Early life Henry Eugene Hodges was born on August 16, 1966, in Florida. According to media and court sources, Hodges's father, who was a truck driver, was married to another woman; Hodges's parents would maintain an 18-year long extramarital relationship with each other. Despite this, Hodges's mother alone took care of Hodges and her four other sons, and received little support from the two fathers of her five sons. Hodges's father was also abusive towards his mother.State v. Hodges , Tennessee Supreme Court (United States).
At the age of 12, Hodges was raped by a stranger, which reportedly traumatized him. At around the same age, Hodges began to hang out with older boys, engage in delinquent activities, sniff glue and gasoline, play truant and run away from home. Hodges began a sexual relationship with his younger brother and also attempted to do the same thing with his female cousin.
In 1984 and at the age of 17, Hodges was convicted of kidnapping and robbery and sentenced to four years imprisonment. Upon his release in 1988, he started to work part time as a printer and construction worker, but at the same time, he also became a male prostitute to make ends meet, and offered sexual services to homosexual clients. Hodges also frequented numerous local gay bars in Midtown, Tennessee, where he was often seen offering his services. However, Hodges was known for his violent behavior and often, many local gay bars took to warn prospective lovers to be wary of and avoid him.
Murders Between 1988 and 1990, Henry Eugene Hodges committed at least eight murders of men, most of whom were homosexual. While three of the victims were definitively linked to Hodges, he remained a suspect in the other cases associated with him.
Confirmed
Barry McDonald On July 9, 1989, Hodges stabbed and killed 34-year-old Canadian-born Inglewood nurse Barry McDonald in Tennessee.
On that day itself, Hodges entered the home of McDonald, and robbed McDonald before he stabbed the victim 38 times, resulting in his death. The body of McDonald was found three days later by his roommate, and police investigations were able to gain the description of the suspect, based on a neighbour's account that he saw a White man of slender build and blonde hair (referring to Hodges) through McDonald's kitchen window on the date Hodges killed McDonald. An autopsy report showed that the knife wounds on the back and neck of McDonald were the cause of his death. Police suspected that McDonald was likely targeted due to his homosexuality and labelled it as the "most violent crime in this city's history".
The murder of McDonald remained unsolved for nearly a year before Hodges was arrested for another murder, and evidence linked him to the crime. The fingerprints recovered by police from McDonald's house were matched to Hodges.
Ronald A. Bassett On May 14, 1990, Hodges committed the murder of 37-year-old telephone repairman Ronald Allen Bassett (February 25, 1953 – May 14, 1990), also in Tennessee.
On that night itself, Hodges and his 15-year-old girlfriend, a runaway named Trina Brown, went out to look for a victim to rob and kill, after the couple, who had been staying with Hodges's half-brother in Smyrna, Tennessee, agreed to move to Florida and needed money to facilitate their move. The couple also hatched a plan to lure a male client to meet with Hodges under the pretext of offering his sexual services.
At a park in Nashville, Hodges met up with Ronald Bassett, who happened to be the next client propositioning him. Bassett and Hodges left the park in the former's car and they reached Bassett's house. After reaching the house, Hodges tied up Bassett's feet with tape and handcuffed him, and forced him to lie face-down inside his bedroom. Hodges later ransacked the house together with Brown (who joined Hodges later on), and they took some valuables (including some jewelry, a gun, and a VCR) and Bassett's identification card. After discussing whether to spare or kill Bassett, Hodges strangled Bassett to death with a nylon rope in spite of Bassett's plea for mercy.
After murdering Bassett, Hodges and Brown stayed at the house longer to remove fingerprints and clean up the crime scene to destroy evidence. The couple left the house in Bassett's car with the stolen property, and withdrew $400 from an ATM using the card of Bassett. However, a day later, the couple found out through the news that Bassett's body was discovered, and thus, they abandoned Bassett's car at another location and fled to Georgia in their own car.
Michael A. Whisnant On May 16, 1990, two days after he killed Bassett, Hodges killed 32-year-old quality control engineer Michael Whisnant (June 8, 1957 – May 16, 1990) in a hotel in Atlanta, Georgia.
On that day itself, after they met at a gay bar, Hodges made arrangements with Whisnant to engage in homosexual acts with him in exchange for a payment of $75. Although Hodges and Whisnant went to the former's hotel room after agreeing to the price, Whisnant was unable to pay the agreed price and instead paid $25. As a result, Hodges handcuffed Whisnant and strangled him to death with a curtain cord.
Whisnant's body was left under the bed after Hodges killed him. Although the hotel maid cleaned up the room without noticing the body, a security officer eventually found the corpse and lodged a police report shortly before 9 pm.
Suspected victims Hodges was named a suspect behind the killings of at least five men, three of whom were identified by the police:
Vernon L. Larkin On September 4, 1988, Vernon Lester Larkin, a 30 year old data analyst, was allegedly killed by Hodges after he was last seen leaving a gay bar, and his body, gagged and bound, was found three days later in the living room of his apartment that was covered in blood spatters after he had apparently been brutally beaten.
Roland E. Van Dyck On September 20, 1989, Roland E. Van Dyck was discovered dead inside the trunk of his car, and several gunshot wounds were found on his head.
Robert S. Sibert On October 22, 1989, Robert S. Sibert, a college professor, was shot to death at an unknown location in Tennessee.
As for the other two murders, the police had not released the victims' identities. However, according to the police, most of these murders shared some common traits, which were the fact that the victims were either bisexual or homosexual, and that they were found dead inside their homes or apartments.
Arrest On May 18, 1990, Henry Hodges and Trina Brown were both arrested nearby the house of Michael Whisnant in Shelby, North Carolina, after they were identified as the suspects behind Michael Whisnant's killing and a warrant of arrest was issued by Georgia police.
After his arrest, Hodges confessed to the 1990 murders of both Michael Whisnant and Ronald Bassett, as well as the then-unsolved murder of Barry McDonald back in 1989. In total, Hodges confessed to at least eight murders, and claimed that he had lured most of his victims by offering his services before he killed them. The police were also able to link Hodges to the alleged murders purportedly committed by him. As a result of his capture and confession, Hodges was charged with the murder of Whisnant in Georgia, as well as the murders of Barry McDonald and Ronald Bassett in Tennessee.
The arrest of Hodges and revelation of his crimes brought shock to the homosexual community and public attention was centered on the issue of hate crimes against homosexual people, fueling greater feelings of anxiety and fear of anti-homosexual violence in the homosexual community. Official statistics revealed that in 1987 alone, there were a total of 7,008 incidents of violence against homosexual people, which was a 40% increase from 4,986 in 1986.
Additionally, Hodges's profession as a male prostitute and his identification as a serial killer also caused uneasiness and fear among his former clients, who were, in the past, attracted to his looks and personality, which cemented Hodges's image as one with the "seduction of a silk-stocking hooker" and conscience of a "cold-hearted snake." Despite the fact that Hodges denied that he was homosexual, a self-proclaimed former lover of Hodges stated that he believed Hodges was homosexual to a certain extent and craved for a relationship that could provide him a measure of support in life.
Trial proceedings Georgia Henry Hodges stood trial first in Georgia for the murder of Michael Whisnant, to which he pleaded innocent. Hodges was formally indicted by a Fulton County jury on June 5, 1990.
On July 31, 1990, Hodges pleaded guilty to the murder of Whisnant, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Fulton County Superior Court.
Tennessee After his conviction for the murder of Whisnant in Georgia, Hodges was extradited back to Tennessee to face trial for the murders of both Bassett and McDonald.
On January 3, 1991, Hodges was formally indicted by a Davidson County grand jury for killing McDonald and Bassett. That same month, Hodges offered to confess to at least six murders on the condition that the death penalty was taken off the table.
Bassett murder trial The jury selection of Hodges's trial for Bassett's death was slated to begin on January 20, 1992. The prosecution expressed their intent to seek the death penalty for Hodges. The defense lawyers of Hodges planned to argue in mitigation about Hodges's troubled childhood to seek a lesser sentence.
During the trial, Hodges's defense lawyers argued that the murder was driven by a subconscious desire for revenge for the childhood sexual abuse he suffered at age 12, along with a fear that his family would discover he was involved in homosexual prostitution. They pointed out that Brown had told Hodges' sister-in-law shortly before the killing that he was a prostitute. The defense also presented testimony that Brown had dominated and manipulated Hodges. On January 28, 1992, Hodges was found guilty of first-degree murder by the jury, which rejected his defense.
On January 30, 1992, Hodges was sentenced to death upon the jury's unanimous recommendation for capital punishment.
McDonald murder trial By June 1992, Hodges was confirmed to claim trial for the third time for the killing of Whisnant, and Hodges expressed that he wanted to represent himself in his third trial.
On December 22, 1992, Hodges pleaded guilty to the robbery-murder of Whisnant. As a result of this plea of guilt, Hodges was given a second life sentence, plus 30 years in jail for both counts of murder and robbery. According to Davidson County prosecutor Tom Thurman, Hodges remained as a suspect for several other killings but additional charges were unlikely for the time being. In total, Hodges received one death sentence and two sentences of life plus 70 years after three separate trials, and Thurman commented that this would ensure that Hodges will die in prison.
Appeals On April 28, 1997, the Tennessee Supreme Court dismissed Henry Hodges's appeal against his death sentence.