The Girl in the Leaves (3 page)

FOUR

Young Matt

Even from an early age, Matthew John Hoffman liked being in trees. Like other boys
his age, young Hoffman played baseball, but the subject with which he seemed almost
obsessed was trees. He loved going out into the woods and climbing them. Perhaps he
saw climbing a tree as an opportunity to get away from whatever was troubling him;
perhaps he viewed the trees as a safe haven where he could forget the cares of the
world, at least for a short time.

Matt Hoffman was the son of Robert and Patricia Hoffman, and grew up in the Warren
area of northeastern Ohio. According to his mom, Patricia, he was a good boy, but
high-strung. He was smart and had lots of energy, but he was also headstrong and rebellious.
When he wanted his way, he tended to dig in his heels and not be swayed in the matter.

Bright and intelligent, he could also be alarming at times. The things he said to
people were off-kilter and confusing. If someone said “Good morning” to him, Hoffman
was apt to respond with “What’s so good about it?” More than one person would later
recall how they would ask him a normal question and get “an off the wall” answer in
return.

In 1997 Hoffman’s parents divorced, and Hoffman moved with his mother to the Mount
Vernon area in Knox County. One neighbor, Alice Morelli, recalled Hoffman as a teenager,
fourteen to sixteen years of age. She thought that he always seemed unhappy and acted
strangely. Morelli said later, “He was really lost. He was on a bad path.”

Hoffman did get into trouble around that time, when he and some buddies climbed onto
the roof of Lakeview High School. When caught by the police, his only explanation
was that he just wanted to see if he could do it. Hoffman would also jump off his
own roof onto a trampoline. There seemed to be something about heights that intrigued
Hoffman.

Morelli’s dog hated the teen, constantly barking at him when he was in the yard. In
response, Hoffman would merely stare, blank-eyed, at the dog. It really concerned
Morrelli, who thought there was something wrong with the boy. His antics, she felt,
went way beyond the usual childhood pranks.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hoffman did not take well to high school, though he did graduate
in 1999, and went on to study industrial electrical engineering at Knox County Career
Center. Afterward, he went through a long list of jobs in a very short period of time,
never seeming to settle down to anything.

In 2000 Hoffman left Mount Vernon and moved to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where
his grandmother lived. The town was about as different from Apple Valley, Ohio, as
could be imagined. At an elevation of around five thousand feet, Steamboat Springs
was an up-and-coming resort city, geared to outdoor activities, especially skiing.
In fact, Steamboat Springs was one of the fastest-growing cities in Colorado. Not
unlike Vail and Aspen, it had become a hot spot for both winter and summer sports.

Steamboat, as it was called by locals, had good restaurants, a thriving art scene
and lots of new condominiums in town and on the surrounding mountains. Some of the
most luxurious new homes in the area were starting to sell for five or six million
dollars or even more. These homes were up on the ridge with commanding views of the
whole area. People who owned these properties could fly their private jets into the
local airport.

Not that Hoffman was living in one of those expensive houses. He was working as a
plumber’s helper by this time, and his abode in Steamboat was the inexpensive D Bar
K Motel. It was the kind of place where a lot of other low-income workers also lived,
mainly construction workers, maids and other service-related individuals.

Hoffman was away from his motel room for several nights in September 2000, however,
and his fellow residents at the D Bar K would have been surprised to know where he
was spending his time. But it was not long before they found out—along with why he
suddenly left the area without any warning. It happened right around the time an expensive
condominium caught on fire, and the residents had to run for their lives from the
burning set of buildings. Before the ashes settled, Matt Hoffman was long gone.

FIVE

Fire on the Mountain

Around the time of the condo fire, the Steamboat Springs Police Department (SSPD)
was aware that three city signs had been stolen from the city park in mid-September
2000, and they were able to trace their whereabouts to unit 6 of the D Bar K Motel.
These were not small signs, but rather the large metal and wooden signs that welcomed
visitors to the town. It must have taken a lot of effort to remove them, and it had
to be done when no one was watching. The local police learned that Matt Hoffman had
been the sole renter of unit 6, and upon entering the unit, the officers found one
of the signs; the other two were found under the building.

Officer DelValle reviewed the Central Park Management Rental application that Matt
had been required to fill out to rent the D Bar K unit. Hoffman had listed his grandmother’s
phone number on the rental agreement form. DelValle phoned the number and spoke with
Hoffman’s grandmother. She told DelValle that Hoffman had been in the Steamboat Springs
area recently, but had since left. A short time later, Hoffman’s mother in Ohio, Patricia,
phoned DelValle and asked why the police department was inquiring about her son. DelValle
explained the circumstances, and Patricia said she would have Hoffman contact him
as soon as possible.

Six days later, DelValle received a voice mail from Matt Hoffman, requesting a call
back and giving a phone number where he could be reached in Ohio. DelValle called
Hoffman at 5:50
PM
on September 14, 2000, and asked if he had stolen three signs from the city park.
Unexpectedly, Hoffman said that he had, and that he was solely responsible for their
theft. In fact, he gave details of loading the signs into a pickup truck that had
a rack and then transporting them to the D Bar K Motel.

DelValle asked Hoffman why he had stolen the signs. His answer was simple: “I wanted
some souvenirs from Steamboat.” Ironically, however, he hadn’t taken them with him
when he left town.

DelValle told Hoffman, “Well, you have the opportunity to return to Steamboat on your
own accord and expense, or be arrested and formerly extradited.” Hoffman said he would
return on his own. To this DelValle replied, “You have until September twenty-sixth
to do so. If you don’t show up, a warrant for your arrest will go into effect on September
twenty-seventh.”

In passing, Officer DelValle mentioned Hoffman’s confession to Detective Ross Kelly
of the SSPD. Ross’s ears perked up at Hoffman’s name. He knew that Hoffman had been
employed by Scott Barnes Plumbing, which had a maintenance contract with Johnson Shipley
Management, the company that had provided plumbers for the Ridge Condominiums complex
that had burned. Ross also knew that two weeks prior to the fire, which had been deemed
a case of arson, a plumber had done some work in condo number 7, the very unit that
the arson investigator had since determined was the point of origin for the fire.

* * *

On September 26, 2000, Matt Hoffman showed up at SSPD headquarters in Steamboat Springs
and Officer DelValle advised him of his Miranda rights. Hoffman signed a waiver of
his rights, and DelValle started asking him questions about the theft of the “Welcome
to Steamboat Springs” signs.

Hoffman stated that he’d asked a friend at the D Bar K Motel who went by the name
“Freedom” if he could borrow his red Nissan pickup truck, and according to Hoffman,
Freedom had willingly agreed. So around midnight one night, Hoffman decided to steal
the three signs.

DelValle showed Hoffman photos of the recovered signs in the condition they were found.
Hoffman looked at the photos and agreed that was the way he’d left them. Hoffman then
added that he was glad they’d recovered all the parts of the signs that had broken
off when he was removing them from their mountings. DelValle asked Hoffman once again
why he’d stolen the signs, and Hoffman replied, “I wanted them for a novelty.”

DelValle asked Hoffman what his occupation was, and Hoffman said that until recently
he’d worked for the Scott Barnes Plumbing Company. DelValle asked if he’d installed
a garbage disposal at the Ridge Condominium, unit 7. Hoffman responded that he and
Scott Barnes had indeed installed a garbage disposal there and had also unclogged
a tub in a different unit.

DelValle then asked if Hoffman knew there had been a fire at the condominium, and
Hoffman said that he did. To this, DelValle asked, “Why would your fingerprints be
found on several boxes found in the condo owner’s vehicle?” This was a vehicle that
had been stolen from the garage of the burned-out condo number 7 at around the same
time.

Hoffman replied, “I may have picked up the boxes and moved furniture that was in the
way of the plumbing job.”

DelValle responded, “Why would you have to move furniture and boxes to install a garbage
disposal?” Hoffman didn’t answer the question but rather just sat there in silence.

DelValle next asked, “Why were your fingerprints found on the driver’s side door of
a white Chevrolet Suburban? That Suburban was stolen and filled with property from
condo number 7.”

Hoffman responded, “I may have touched the Suburban. I went and looked at it.”

None of this added up, so DelValle asked, “Why would you go look at the Suburban?”

Hoffman answered, “I found the keys in a drawer in the kitchen. I took the keys and
went into the Suburban.”

“Okay, so did you drive the Suburban and park it by the Clock Tower building?” (This
was a building near the center of town).

Hoffman replied, “I only drove the vehicle on Ridge Road.”

To this, DelValle said, “You must know where I’m going with this questioning.”

Hoffman agreed that he did, and responded, “Okay, you obviously got me!”

Officer DelValle excused himself from the room and met with Detective Kelly. He asked
Kelly to come into the room with a tape recorder and case reports about the condo
fire. After a short period of time, DelValle and Kelly went back into the room where
Hoffman was sitting. DelValle introduced Kelly to Hoffman and said that Kelly was
the investigating officer on the arson fire.

Both DelValle and Kelly began asking Hoffman about items that had been stolen from
the condo and placed in the Suburban. Hoffman admitted that he’d taken a stuffed mountain
lion, a wood dresser and a bag of clothing from the condo. When asked about a bear
rug, antelope head and wooden bench, Hoffman said that he had not stolen those and
they must have burned in the fire. Apparently he had left the mountain lion, wood
dresser and bag of clothing in the stolen vehicle.

Asked about office equipment, Hoffman recalled that he’d stolen a fax machine and
placed it on the passenger seat of the Suburban, and he’d also taken a small camera.
Hoffman continued, “I took items two times, one of which was on the night of the fire.
I was in that condo five times. I stayed in there and watched TV because my own place
didn’t have cable TV. I cooked myself meals and used the Jacuzzi.” Hoffman was able
to do all of those things because he knew the condo owner was out of town.

The officers asked why he set the fire. Hoffman replied, “I burned the place to cover
up the crime because my fingerprints were all over the place. I couldn’t have cleaned
all the prints. I had no choice. I had to start the fire.”

When asked what kind of accelerant he’d used to start the fire, Hoffman replied, “You
already know what I used. It was premium gasoline.”

The officers wanted to know what containers he’d carried the gasoline in, and Hoffman
responded, “Didn’t you find the containers? There’s always a lot of evidence left
after a fire. I used milk containers.” Then he laughed, saying that he was just kidding
about that. He’d actually bought two plastic gas cans at a local Walmart store on
August 26.

The officers wondered where he’d bought the gasoline, and Hoffman said he’d purchased
it at a Total Gas Station. Then he drove back to the condo, with the full gas cans,
in a red Monte Carlo. Just whose vehicle this was, he did not say. He decided to drive
the Suburban to the Clock Tower building, where he planned to pick it up the next
day with all the stolen goods inside. Of course, Hoffman did not have permission to
be using the Suburban.

Hoffman continued, “I parked the Suburban, walked back to the condo and sat inside
watching television all day. I regretted what I knew I had to do. I watched TV until
the early morning hours of the twenty-eighth. I poured the entire ten gallons of gasoline
on the floors of all the rooms in the condo and ignited the fuel. Then I immediately
walked away.”

The officers asked Hoffman if he knew that there were tenants inside the condominium
when he set the fire. Hoffman stated, “I knew there were people staying in the [other]
units, but the fire alarm would warn them.”

Then Hoffman asked if he needed a lawyer. Both DelValle and Kelly said that was Hoffman’s
decision to make, and DelValle brought up the Miranda warning. Hoffman may have thought
he was being clever, responding that he’d been Mirandized about the theft of the signs
but not about the fire. He may have thought that anything he said concerning the fire
could not be used against him.

DelValle, however, explained that the police did not have to Mirandize a person multiple
times. Once again Hoffman was asked if he needed an attorney, and he declared, “I’ve
never needed one before, and I already told you everything.”

The interview concluded, and the officers asked Hoffman to write out a confession.
He agreed to do so, and then he was arrested and transported to the Routt County Jail
where he was held for the theft of the signs and for burglary and arson. Bond was
set at twenty-five thousand dollars.

Officer DelValle asked Detective Assistant Kim Gittleson to contact Walmart to determine
if two gas cans had been purchased there on August 26. Gittleson spoke with a store
employee, who confirmed the purchase of the two gas cans on that date. Gittleson also
obtained a printout of the sales receipt.

DelValle contacted “Freedom,” Hoffman’s alleged friend at the D Bar K Motel; the man
declared that he had never “loaned” Hoffman his red pickup truck.

* * *

When the list of charges was drawn up against Matthew Hoffman, it included five counts.
Count I concerned the arson of the Ridge Condominium complex, and count II dealt with
“unlawfully and knowingly” breaking and entering into the condo and remaining there.
Count III concerned first-degree aggravated motor vehicle theft, while count IV was
about the theft of property from the condo. The final count related to “reckless endangerment”
of the lives of the people living in the condominium when Hoffman set the fire.

In a preliminary hearing, Detective Ross Kelly, the condo owner and a criminalist
from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) lab laid out details of the case.
A judge agreed that there was enough evidence for the matter to go to trial.

Hoffman was assigned lawyer David Kaplan, who soon thereafter presented a motion to
modify Hoffman’s bond. Kaplan wrote in part, “Mr. Hoffman is indigent and without
adequate financial resources. The present bond is excessive, and has resulted in Mr.
Hoffman’s continued pretrial incarceration solely because of his poverty. Consequently,
Mr. Hoffman seeks reduction or modification of his bond to a reasonable amount so
he can obtain his release from custody.
”

Judge Thompson ruled that there would be a modification, and ordered the bond reduced
to ten thousand dollars. Hoffman was then cautioned not to leave the state of Colorado
without permission and to advise the court of any changes of address.

While incarcerated, Hoffman obviously had time to think about his situation, and he
came to a dramatic decision: he would not take his chances with a jury trial. Instead,
he pled guilty to the charges, hoping for leniency from the judge.

It was indeed a gamble. Each of the first three counts carried a presumptive sentence
of four to twelve years of imprisonment and a fine of $3,000 to $750,000. Sentencing
guidelines for count IV called for two to six years of imprisonment, and for count
V, six months.

On November 3, 2000, Matthew Hoffman signed an agreement with the court that stated
he understood the English language and that he had fully discussed his options with
his attorney. He also understood the possible penalties for pleading guilty to the
charges and agreed that “the decision to enter a plea of guilty is entirely my own
choice. There has been no force, threats or promises made to cause me to enter my
pleas.
”

There was another provision listed way down the page, of which Hoffman was aware.
It stated, “I understand that I have the right to file a motion for the reduction
of my sentence within 120 days after sentence is imposed.”

Actual sentencing didn’t occur until January 5, 2001, at a court hearing on the matter.
Routt County Deputy District Attorney Charles Feldmann called one witness, Jay Muhme,
a fire marshal. Muhme spoke about the extent of the arson fire and the resulting danger
to the residents of the condominium. Feldmann then asked for a sentence of ten years
minimum for Matt Hoffman.

Townsend, a public defender assigned to represent Hoffman in this stage of the proceedings
was next; he asked the judge to impose a sentence of six to eight years. And Hoffman
had a statement for the judge. He claimed that he now understood the impact and devastation
he had caused to others, especially the condo owner’s family. Hoffman wrote in part
that he’d lost sight of what was most important in life. He thought that money was,
but now he claimed, “The A-number-one thing that money can’t buy is God. Along with
God brings love and the beauty of nature.” And then he chose an odd phrase. “These
few things are omnivorous and omnipresent in every aspect of our daily routine.”

Hoffman stated that he might not have ever come to his senses if it hadn’t been for
the present “terrible situation. So instead of wishing I didn’t get caught, I’m going
to appreciate Fate’s decision.” Hoffman swore that he would learn from this experience
and become a better man and useful member of society, declaring that he would take
advantage of every opportunity in prison to better educate himself. He promised that
he was going to do everything to turn his life around.