The Girl in the Leaves (24 page)

Knox County Sheriff David Barber and his team of investigators worked tirelessly on
the case.

(ROBERT SCOTT)

Investigators discovered large bloodstains in Tina Herrmann’s home, making them worry
about the fate of the missing individuals.

(KNOX COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE)

Hundreds of citizen volunteers signed up to help search for Stephanie, Tina, Kody
and Sarah. They also held prayer vigils at this town square in Mount Vernon, Ohio.

(ROBERT SCOTT)

Matthew Hoffman of Mount Vernon, Ohio, had been in trouble with the law, even as a
young man.

(KNOX COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE)

When Hoffman was nineteen years old, he stole this large sign in Steamboat Springs,
Colorado, and also burned down a condominium complex there.

(ROBERT SCOTT)

On the morning of November 14, 2010, a SWAT team burst into Matthew Hoffman’s house
and arrested him there.

(ROBERT SCOTT)

Investigators were able to track Hoffman down as the suspect in the missing persons’
case concerning Tina, Sarah, Kody and Stephanie.

(KNOX COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE)

The officers found Sarah Maynard alive and tied up on a bed of leaves in Hoffman’s
basement.

(KNOX COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE)

Hoffman had also covered his floors with dried leaves and had bags of leaves stacked
up in every room.
(KNOX COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE)

(KNOX COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE)

Investigators also found strange images drawn in Hoffman’s bathroom, where he had
kept Sarah tied up part of the time.

(KNOX COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE)

In exchange for having the death penalty removed, Matthew Hoffman revealed where he
had hidden the dismembered bodies of Tina, Kody and Stephanie.

(KNOX COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE)

He had placed them in a hollow tree in a nature preserve. A tree cutter had to cut
a hole in the tree to remove trash bags filled with body parts.

(KNOX COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE)