COLUMBUS, Ohio – As Donald Hoffman was led away to spend the rest of his life in prison, he heard the jeers and calls of “beast’ and “coward” from the families of his victims in the courtroom behind him.
-Material for this story contributed by CrawfordCountyNow.com
Hoffman, 41, was sentenced to four consecutive sentences of life in prison without parole for the deaths of Bill Jack Chatman, Jerald Smith, Freelin Hensley and Darrell Lewis last September.
In sentencing him, Crawford County Judge Russell Wiseman told Hoffman emphatically, “. . . this community bids you goodbye.”
Hoffman changed his plea as a result of an arrangement county prosecutor Matt Crall described as the right thing to do.
“Hopefully this will allow closure and for the families to heal. You heard a lot of sorrow in the courtroom,” he said. “Part of what we discussed was if we had a plea today that would end his court appearances; it would be the end of everything. And that’s the main reason why we chose to do that, both for the families and our community.”
Security was beefed up in the courtroom as more than 30 relatives of the four victims were on hand when Hoffman was brought into the courtroom shackled and wearing a protective vest under his orange jumpsuit. Hoffman was given headphones to enhance his hearing of the proceedings.
As part of the plea arrangement, Hoffman pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated murder. In exchange for that plea the remaining 17 charges in the indictment were dropped as were death penalty specifications on each of the capital charges.
Hoffman had actually wanted to plead guilty to the murders the day he walked into the Bucyrus Police Department and told police he had not only murdered Hensley and Chatman, whose bodies had been found the day before, but also Smith and Lewis, whom authorities knew nothing about until Hoffman told them, Crall said.