Read Online World's Worst Crimes: An A-Z of Evil Deeds by Charlotte Greig - Free Book Online
Authors: Charlotte Greig
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pools of blood; and four of the victims were also found to have been sexually assaulted. The victims were 47-year-old Phyllis Adams, 35-year-old Sandra Thompson, 37-year-old Carolyn Watson, 30-year-old LaShawn Evans, and 34-year-old Fransill Roberts.
Butchered In A Crack House
Samples of blood were taken from some of the women’s clothing, including two shirts and a jacket, as well as a bloody handprint that was found on a curtain. However, the murder investigation launched at the time yielded no results, and no suspect was named. The multiple murders shocked the local community, and the police were criticized for failing to find the killer. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) accused the law enforcement agencies of racism, saying they were not making enough effort to find the culprit because the victims were black and were frequenting a crack house. The house was known as a place where penniless drug addicts, mostly women, came to sell sex in return for drugs. Many commentators from the black community felt that because of the house’s bad reputation, very little was being done to bring the killer of these women to justice.
It was not until five years later that police ran the DNA profile of Danny Keith Hooks into their computer database. Hooks had been picked up on a charge of rape. To their surprise, it matched the samples taken from the scene of the crime at the crack house. The evidence was compelling, and Hooks was soon brought to trial and charged with the five murders.
At the trial, Hooks claimed that the bloody handprint on the curtain was the result of a cut on his hand that he had sustained from riding his bicycle. He admitted that he had smoked crack at the house earlier that day with the five women, and that he had had sex with two of them. However, he said that he had then decided to leave the house and it was only when he returned later that he had found the dead bodies.
During the trial, Hooks testified that he was innocent. He repeated the story told to police that he had smoked cocaine and had sex with the women during his first visit and later found the bodies in a bedroom, as well as describing the finger allegedly cut when he fell off his bicycle.
‘It’s a plausible explanation,’ said defense attorney Irven Box, who ridiculed the idea that one man could have controlled five ‘streetwise women.’ He called the idea ‘baloney.’
But prosecutor Brad Miller called Hooks’ testimony ‘high-gear silliness’ and impossible. He listed some 16 problems with Hooks’ account, including where Hooks’ blood was found.
Miller pointed out Hooks had no explanation for why he would return to the house since he claimed he’d spent all his money the first visit. Prosecution witnesses, including one of Hooks’ former co- workers, said Hooks had talked before of his desire to have orgies.
The prosecution alleged that to the contrary, Hooks had killed the women in a frenzy of violence. He was a crack addict who had become mentally unstable as a result of his addiction. The prosecution suggested that he had tried to force the women into a sex orgy with him. When Adams, who he knew, tried to flee he had stabbed her some 10 times after cornering her in a closet.
‘Once it went bad, everybody had to go. He wasn’t going to leave any witnesses,’ Miller said.
Death Penalty
Jurors were heard arguing – shouting at times – as they began deliberations. At the end of the first day, the jurors reported they were split 10-2 after six hours of discussion. On the second day of deliberations they spent eight hours arguing.
What held their deliberation up was the fact that it was hard to understand how five women could have been killed – apparently easily – by one man, but in the end they decided that that was what had happened. They therefore returned a verdict of guilty. On hearing the verdict, Hooks showed no reaction. He was convicted of five counts of
Butchered In A Crack House
Samples of blood were taken from some of the women’s clothing, including two shirts and a jacket, as well as a bloody handprint that was found on a curtain. However, the murder investigation launched at the time yielded no results, and no suspect was named. The multiple murders shocked the local community, and the police were criticized for failing to find the killer. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) accused the law enforcement agencies of racism, saying they were not making enough effort to find the culprit because the victims were black and were frequenting a crack house. The house was known as a place where penniless drug addicts, mostly women, came to sell sex in return for drugs. Many commentators from the black community felt that because of the house’s bad reputation, very little was being done to bring the killer of these women to justice.
It was not until five years later that police ran the DNA profile of Danny Keith Hooks into their computer database. Hooks had been picked up on a charge of rape. To their surprise, it matched the samples taken from the scene of the crime at the crack house. The evidence was compelling, and Hooks was soon brought to trial and charged with the five murders.
At the trial, Hooks claimed that the bloody handprint on the curtain was the result of a cut on his hand that he had sustained from riding his bicycle. He admitted that he had smoked crack at the house earlier that day with the five women, and that he had had sex with two of them. However, he said that he had then decided to leave the house and it was only when he returned later that he had found the dead bodies.
During the trial, Hooks testified that he was innocent. He repeated the story told to police that he had smoked cocaine and had sex with the women during his first visit and later found the bodies in a bedroom, as well as describing the finger allegedly cut when he fell off his bicycle.
‘It’s a plausible explanation,’ said defense attorney Irven Box, who ridiculed the idea that one man could have controlled five ‘streetwise women.’ He called the idea ‘baloney.’
But prosecutor Brad Miller called Hooks’ testimony ‘high-gear silliness’ and impossible. He listed some 16 problems with Hooks’ account, including where Hooks’ blood was found.
Miller pointed out Hooks had no explanation for why he would return to the house since he claimed he’d spent all his money the first visit. Prosecution witnesses, including one of Hooks’ former co- workers, said Hooks had talked before of his desire to have orgies.
The prosecution alleged that to the contrary, Hooks had killed the women in a frenzy of violence. He was a crack addict who had become mentally unstable as a result of his addiction. The prosecution suggested that he had tried to force the women into a sex orgy with him. When Adams, who he knew, tried to flee he had stabbed her some 10 times after cornering her in a closet.
‘Once it went bad, everybody had to go. He wasn’t going to leave any witnesses,’ Miller said.
Death Penalty
Jurors were heard arguing – shouting at times – as they began deliberations. At the end of the first day, the jurors reported they were split 10-2 after six hours of discussion. On the second day of deliberations they spent eight hours arguing.
What held their deliberation up was the fact that it was hard to understand how five women could have been killed – apparently easily – by one man, but in the end they decided that that was what had happened. They therefore returned a verdict of guilty. On hearing the verdict, Hooks showed no reaction. He was convicted of five counts of
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