The Girl in the Leaves (4 page)

In the end, Judge Thompson sentenced Hoffman to eight years in prison, less the 102
days Hoffman had already served. The judge further ruled that Hoffman would be eligible
for a boot camp program, an educational/work program within the prison system. If
Hoffman was going to “learn from the experience,” he was about to get every chance
possible within prison walls.

SIX

“Trying to Cut Corners”

Matt Hoffman did not cause trouble in prison and was in fact a model prisoner in the
eyes of the system. He completed a Victim Impact Awareness program and received a
“diploma” to that effect. He also received a certificate for Intermediate Microsoft
Works education.

Hoffman mostly kept to himself and had few friends in prison, though one of those
few friends was a fellow inmate named Joe Aldrich, who later spoke of Hoffman as being
very “closemouthed” but not a hardened criminal like some inmates. Aldrich thought
that Hoffman had made a youthful mistake and was now trying to better himself. He
also thought that Hoffman was an intelligent individual who could improve his lot
in life once he was out of prison.

It wasn’t long before Hoffman was taking advantage of his right to appeal the sentence,
and his latest public defender, Cynthia Camp, helped him in this regard. She wrote,
“Mr. Hoffman has no prior felony convictions. Further, Mr. Hoffman has no pending
charges or detainers and no history of escape. During his incarceration, Mr. Hoffman
has been employed in the janitorial department as a porter.”

Camp went on to write about Hoffman’s completion of the Victim Impact Awareness program
and his enrollment in the Intermediate Microsoft Works program. She also stated that
Hoffman’s family resided in Ohio and that he’d been in constant contact with them
by letter, phone and visits. Camp said that his family was supportive of him while
Hoffman was in prison.

Camp declared that Hoffman had a stable work history and had been employed before
his incarceration as an electronics and plumbing assistant, golf cart mechanic and
dietary aide. He had knowledge in residential and industrial electrical wiring and
in carpentry. Hoffman stated he would find “gainful” employment if released early.

To bolster these contentions, Hoffman wrote a letter to Judge Thompson a couple of
years into his prison stay. He started out by saying that he had changed since the
time of the crimes. “During the crime, although my morals were weak, I did understand
the difference between right and wrong. Due to my adolescent ignorance, I did not
grasp the magnitude of my actions.”

Hoffman wrote that he’d never even thought to consider the impact his crime of arson
would have on others. He said he never would have gone through with it had he realized
how devastating it would be: “My assumption was that the insurance company would just
take care of the damage and that would be the end of it.” Hoffman added that he now
realized his actions had deprived the area’s residents of their sense of security.
He said that he’d hurt the owners of the condominium complex not only financially
but emotionally as well. In fact, Hoffman claimed that this realization of the impact
his actions had had on his victims bothered him more than his prison sentence.

Hoffman wrote that he’d been raised to face up to the consequences of his actions.
And he claimed that’s exactly what he’d done when he voluntarily returned from Ohio
to Colorado. He stated that his attitude about his role in society had changed dramatically
while in prison. Before the crime, he said, he took things for granted. Now, he declared,
he no longer felt as if he was just drifting, but wanted to go to college when he
got out of prison. With a college degree, he said, he could “put this horrible disgrace
behind me.”

He went on, “The reason I am pouring my heart out to you in this letter is because
you are the only one with the power to give me probation at this reconsideration hearing
that is coming up soon. I need to start picking up the pieces of my life and putting
them back together.”

Matt Hoffman wasn’t alone in writing letters to Judge Thompson. His mother, Patricia,
wrote that her son had been a model prisoner while located near Las Animas, Colorado.
She added, “He is determined to turn his life around and put this all behind him.”
She stated that in his letters to her, Hoffman spoke of trying to be around people
with positive attitudes.

Patricia added, “I am asking that you release him from prison and allow him to come
home to Ohio. Matt is lucky to have family that supports him and can help him settle
back into society. It will be a great relief to me when he can begin college and get
his life back in order.”

Hoffman’s father, Robert Hoffman, also wrote Judge Thompson, stating, “On behalf of
my son, I ask that the court impose a structured release program for Matthew. A guidance
program consisting of rehabilitation and counseling in addition to a work release
program. In Matt’s short life he has caused so much pain and suffering, not only for
his victims, but his family and friends and lastly himself. He needs this opportunity
rather than continued incarceration.”

Hoffman’s sister, Melanie, wrote the judge too, saying that her brother had made a
terrible mistake. It was one that he would never be able to forget. She added, “I
love my brother, and I’m interested in him becoming a productive member of society,
learning the skills necessary to live the life of a functional citizen and not an
inmate in our country’s justice system.”

Melanie added that she believed that her brother, if released, could become a useful
member of society and could put to use the computer skills he’d learned while incarcerated.
She worried that the longer he spent in prison, the more hardened he would become
and might “develop the lifestyle of an inmate.”

The Routt County District Attorney’s Office, by contrast, was unequivocally against
an early release of Mathew Hoffman. Deputy District Attorney Elizabeth Wittemyer drew
up a seven-point motion against it. Point one stated that a sentence of eight years
was reasonable in light of the crimes he’d committed. Point two noted that while Hoffman
was declaring a lack of prior felony convictions, that had already been factored into
the original eight-year term.

Point three stated that although Hoffman had been enrolled in the Victim Impact Awareness
program and computer training, these were not sufficient reasons to lessen his term
of incarceration. Point four noted that at no time had Hoffman expressed regret for
the danger he’d put tenants and firefighters in when he torched the condominium. Point
five brought up the fact that although Hoffman stated he had “come to his senses”
and returned to Colorado on his own when presented with the charges, in truth Hoffman
had come back to face the charge of theft of the three signs only, not the more serious
counts. She declared, “This is a person who was caught and confessed only after he
was backed into a corner.”

Point six cited Hoffman’s claim, made in his interview with detectives, that he’d
stolen items from the condominium because he wanted to cut corners. Wittemyer wrote,
“Once again, through this motion, the defendant is trying to cut corners.”

Point seven addressed the fact that without provocation, Hoffman had robbed and torched
a place to cover his tracks. “He put human lives at risk, caused an immense amount
of monetary and emotional damage and put a whole community in fear. The People request
that the defendant not be allowed to cut any more corners and that he serve his full
sentence.”

In the end, Matt Hoffman served six years of an eight-year sentence. Typically, a
person must serve parole in the county where they committed the crime, which in Hoffman’s
case was Routt County, Colorado. But Hoffman went back to Knox County, Ohio, to serve
his parole.

Once back in Ohio, in 2007, Hoffman had a hard time readjusting, although the difficulty
seemed to have less to do with his time in prison than with his oddball personality.
He managed to make a few friends and land a few jobs, but sooner or later, people
would comment on just how “weird” he was. He made them nervous and edgy.

For a while, though, things seemed to be getting back on track. He got the tree-trimming
job and had a good relationship with a new, pretty and personable girlfriend. Hoffman
was even able to buy a house on Columbus Road in Mount Vernon in 2009. It cost only
$37,500 because it needed a lot of work. Hoffman and his girlfriend and her son moved
in, and for a few months everything was fine. But as Hoffman’s neighbors later said,
he soon began to show very odd traits and to treat his girlfriend badly, culminating
in her leaving him in late October 2010. Not long after, he lost his tree-trimming
job as well.

So there he was, an ex-con with no girlfriend, no job and bleak prospects. He was
by now burning with anger and ready to lash out at the world. It almost didn’t matter
to him who would bear the brunt of his anger. Somebody was going to pay, and it was
going to be soon.

SEVEN

The Intruder

Starting on the night of November 9, 2010, and continuing for the next several days,
there would be a marathon of ducking, hiding and weaving on Matthew Hoffman’s part.
He began it all by parking his car at the Gap Trail parking lot, a few miles from
Apple Valley, around midnight. From there he walked to a patch of woods across the
street from Tina Herrmann’s house on King Beach Drive, arriving sometime around 1:00
AM
on November 10. Hoffman already knew that house had problems with its garage door,
which would not shut all the way down to the driveway.

Hoffman had some food, a water bottle and a sleeping bag with him. He crawled into
his sleeping bag and soon fell asleep. He woke up in time to hear a vehicle pulling
out of the driveway of the house very early in the morning, sometime after 3:00
AM
. Greg Borders was leaving for work.

Hoffman settled back down in the sleeping bag and fell asleep again. He decided to
wait until all the vehicles, and all the inhabitants, had left, and then he would
enter the isolated house. It was something he enjoyed doing, and he looked forward
to the coming day’s activities. Matt got a charge out of being in places that someone
else owned, such as the condo in Steamboat Springs.

He also may have known that a pretty, blond thirteen-year-old girl lived in the house.
Hoffman would later claim he didn’t know that fact, but by that point much of what
he said could not be trusted. Whether he knew of Sarah Maynard or not, he was now
determined to enter that house whenever he felt it was safe to do so.

* * *

November 10, 2010, was just another cool autumn day at Tina Herrmann’s home on King
Beach Drive. The only unusual thing about it was the activity Tina had scheduled:
apartment hunting. Although she was still living in the house with her children, she
and Greg Borders were calling it quits as a couple. Tina was now in the process of
looking for a new place to reside, and her friend Stephanie Sprang was helping her
in the search. They had plans to go together to look at a rental apartment later that
day. There was also some talk of looking at a rental house in the area.

The day had begun very early in the household, when Greg left at 3:40
AM
for his job at the Target Distribution Center. Later that morning he spoke to Tina
by cell phone while at work, and received a text that the family dog had been fed.

Meanwhile, Sarah and Kody ate breakfast, gathered their school supplies and caught
the school bus to East Knox Middle School. Sarah noticed that Kody seemed distracted
by something, but he did not tell her what it was. Sarah soon forgot about it and
focused instead on the coming day at school.

After the kids left, Tina went grocery shopping at the Kroger supermarket in Mount
Vernon, sometime after 9:30
AM
. She also bought some gas at the pumps there, and may have even gone to a tanning
salon for a while before returning home shortly after noon. She pulled into the driveway,
parked the pickup truck she was using and entered her home.

As soon as Tina walked in the door, carrying bags of groceries to the kitchen, a man
came tearing out of the hallway and grabbed her. Before she even had a chance to scream,
he hauled her to the master bedroom. He was strong and he was in a rage. Against his
large frame, 120-pound Tina didn’t stand a chance.

* * *

The only eyewitness to what happened next was Matthew Hoffman, though mute evidence
would tell some of the story.

He may have pushed her down on the bed and hit her in the back of the head with a
sap he’d brought along. Or he may have already been reaching for the sharp hunting
knife he had with him. In fact, he may have even stabbed her once or twice before
he realized another person was in the house. Whatever the circumstances, he was suddenly
and unexpectedly interrupted by the appearance of Stephanie Sprang, who had walked
into the unlocked house only to find Hoffman bent over Tina with a knife in his hand.

Stephanie’s relatives believed that under those circumstances, Stephanie would have
immediately rushed the man with the knife to save her friend. This was the Stephanie
they knew, someone who would fight anyone to help a friend. And events may have unfolded
in just that way. Hoffman, however, would eventually tell a very different story,
but regardless, blood evidence would later prove that whatever occurred between Hoffman
and Stephanie did so in Sarah’s bedroom.

After coming upon Hoffman with Tina in the master bedroom, Stephanie either ran to
Sarah’s bedroom or was dragged there by Hoffman. Hoffman knew he had to take care
of this new woman before finishing off the first one, who lay either badly wounded
or dead in the master bedroom.

Stephanie, like Tina, was no match for Hoffman, who overpowered her and stabbed her
twice in the chest. The stab wounds were so savage and were dealt with such force
that Stephanie died almost immediately. Hoffman didn’t stop there, however: he continued
to stab Stephanie several more times to make sure she was dead. Her blood spattered
the walls and pooled on the floor of Sarah’s bedroom.

Then he returned to Tina in the other bedroom and unleashed his full fury upon her.
Hoffman stabbed her again and again, puncturing her lungs and other vital organs.
He then savagely ripped her midsection with a long tearing thrust. He stabbed her
many more times than was necessary to kill her.

After making sure both women were dead, Hoffman dragged Tina’s body to the bathroom.
As far as he was concerned, his work had just begun. He deposited Tina’s body in the
tub and, with only a hunting knife, began to dismember her body. This was no easy
task, but Hoffman had some hunting skills and was strong. He knew that the knife would
not cut through bone, so he disarticulated the woman’s body at the joints.

It was an incredibly bloody task, and soon the bathtub and much of the bathroom was
covered in blood. Hoffman found some plastic trash bags in the house and deposited
Tina’s body parts into these. They were not large garbage bags, however, and he had
to use quite a few of them.

While he was at his grisly task, the dog in the house would not stop barking. Afraid
that the barking might alert someone, Hoffman grabbed the dog, took it to the bathroom
and killed it. He then dismembered its body as well and put the parts into garbage
bags. Then he turned his attention to the other woman and began to “process” her as
well, as he would later put it.

Once finished with the bodies, Hoffman had one more task to do around the house. He
found some motor oil and poured it over the worst of the bloodstains and bloody drag
marks. He planned to set the house on fire just as he had done to the condo in Colorado,
and he figured the oil would burn hot enough to eradicate all the bloodstains and
blood trails, even if the whole house did not burn down.

* * *

Unaware of the horror going on in their home, Sarah and Kody rode the school bus back
to their street that afternoon and walked to the front door of their home on King
Beach Drive. From the outside, everything looked normal at the house.

Once they entered, however, the two noticed something odd. They always took off their
shoes just inside the front door, and as they stopped to do so now, they spotted what
looked to be blood right at the door. It wasn’t a lot of blood, but there shouldn’t
have been any there at all.

Sarah recalled later, “We had a love seat by the door, and Kody was going to take
off his shoes there. I saw blood near the door, and Mom wasn’t in the house. She always
greeted us when we came home.”

Concerned about this, they both called out, “Mom!”

Instead of hearing their mom’s reply, they were stunned to see a large man come rushing
out of the hallway. Before they could even scream, he was on them.