The Girl in the Leaves

by Robert Scott

  For his part, Hoffman’s public defender Bruce Malek felt “there is no need for a preliminary hearing in this case. Under these circumstances, we don’t feel that he [Prosecutor Thatcher] has any reason to go forward with a hearing.” The defense reasoning was that Hoffman had already confessed to his crimes and written out a statement.

  Malek, moving in a different direction, added that Hoffman had recently been taken off a suicide watch and that “he’s doing about as well as someone could be expected, who has just come off a suicide watch. He has not been released into the general population at the jail.” The reason for that was the concern that some inmates would be more than happy to inflict “jailhouse justice” upon Hoffman.

  Victim Assistant Director Diana Oswalt from the Knox County Prosecutor’s Office was keeping in constant contact with Sarah and Larry Maynard, willing to provide counseling or simply to listen. Her office stated that the mission of the Victim Assistance Program was “to provide crime victims with information and emotional support necessary to make their way through the process of seeking justice.” Oswalt said of her job, “Mostly I would just listen to victims, about their concerns. Some want to talk a lot, and others are very quiet. Either way is all right. People deal with the situation they were in, in their own way.”

  The other important aspect of Oswalt’s job was to let Sarah and Larry know what they could expect from the upcoming case against Matthew Hoffman as it went through the judicial system; as its mission statement stated, the Victim Assistance Program sought to “ensure that the victim’s rights are enforced and protected by making every effort to personally and promptly inform the victims about charges filed, hearings scheduled, the outcomes of those hearings, and dealing with the aftermath of those procedures to move forward with their lives.”

  Oswalt also let the Maynards know that they had a right to the reasonable return of property that was stolen, the right to communicate with the prosecutor and the right to freedom from intimidation. They also had the right to make a statement at sentencing and the right to receive information about the perpetrator after sentencing. There was even a schematic illustrating at which proceedings Sarah might be called upon to testify; these included the preliminary hearing or grand jury setting, and the actual trial. In Sarah’s case, the prosecution was going the grand jury route, which would bar the news media from attending the proceedings.

  On days when Sarah would not be called to testify, Oswalt could attend the proceedings and inform Sarah and Larry afterward of what had occurred; this would save the Maynards from having to appear personally in court, where they would undoubtedly be besieged by reporters. Neither Sarah nor Larry wanted to be in the limelight. As much as possible, they were trying to reconstruct normal lives, especially for Sarah.

  * * *

  The actual grand jury indictment of Matthew Hoffman didn’t come until after the new year, on January 3, 2011. Part of the document read, “The indictment alleges that Hoffman purposely caused the deaths of Tina R Herrmann, Ms. Herrmann’s son Kody Maynard, and her neighbor Stephanie Sprang on November 10, 2010. He committed the murders while he was committing the offense of Aggravated Burglary in Herrmann’s residence.”

  Prosecutor John Thatcher said that he had called the special session of the grand jury because of the seriousness of the crimes. Grand juries in Knox County usually met only once a month, but this situation had demanded a response far beyond the routine. Thatcher added that the grand jurors listened to six hours of testimony before coming back with the indictment. In essence this grand jury hearing was Matthew Hoffman’s trial pertaining to guilt, not sentencing, which would come later. The grand jurors returned a bill of indictment that found Hoffman guilty of all charges. John Thatcher wanted to make sure that all the i’s were dotted and all the t’s crossed in the legal proceedings.

  Most family members were waiting until actual sentencing to speak to the press, though Stephanie Sprang’s father, Steve Thompson, did make a short statement after the indictment, saying simply, “We don’t want to say anything that might affect the outcome of the arraignment. We want to see Hoffman get everything he deserves.”

  THIRTY-ONE

  Impact Statements

  Just before formal sentencing by Judge Otho Eyster on January 5, 2011, victim impact statements were read in court. Many people were heartbroken by the brutal crimes and very angry at Matthew Hoffman, who sat at the defense table next to his attorneys as one after another, family members and friends either read their victim impact statements or had them presented to him.

  One of these people was Tammy Erwin, a close friend of the Herrmann family. Tammy’s husband, Terry, had grown up with the Herrmann children, Tina, Eric, Bill and Jason, and Tammy had known them for twenty-four years. Tina’s mother, Barb, had babysat Tammy and Terry’s children, and Tina would go along and help babysit the Erwins’ kids from the time she was in elementary school until she was in high school. Tammy and Terry had helped to celebrate all the Herrmann children’s high school graduations, weddings and births. They also spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve with them over the years.

  Before launching into the impact of the “horrific crime,” Tammy thanked the SWAT team, FBI, Bureau of Missing and Exploited Children, Mount Carmel Health’s Crime and Trauma Assistance Program, and everyone who had helped in the search for Tina, Kody, Sarah and Stephanie.

  Tammy then said, “Kody, Tina and Stephanie were brutally murdered in Tina’s home. Matthew Hoffman broke into Tina’s home, robbed Sarah of her innocence and corrupted her of her morals. He lied, he cheated, he stole, he murdered and he has no respect for human or animal lives.”

  Tammy related that as a parent, her biggest fear was that something might happen to her children. Since the incident of November 10, she feared for her daughter to be alone at any time. When the subject was brought up at home, Tammy started crying. It had caused her many sleepless nights. Even in the daylight hours, she often would be consumed by thoughts of what had happened to Tina, Kody, Stephanie and Sarah. Tammy said it was beyond the worst horror movie she could think of.

  Speaking of Sarah, Tammy said, “A sweet thirteen-year-old girl was tied up and gagged in her own home while this evil monster murdered her mother and little brother.”

  Tammy noted that grief, fear and insecurity would be a part of Sarah’s life to come, and said she couldn’t even imagine what Sarah and her family were going through at the moment.

  She said, “Matthew Hoffman is not sick, he is just evil. There is absolutely no way this beast can be rehabilitated.” She likened all that Hoffman had done to a nightmare from which no one in the area would ever be fully able to wake up. She called him “the devil child of Satan” and asked that the judge show him no mercy. She also asked that he be kept in isolation in a high-security prison and never be allowed to see the light of day again. Tammy wanted Hoffman to have one bite of food a day and hoped that his cell would be filled with cobwebs and that he would soil his pants on a regular basis. She wanted Hoffman to have a tiny dark space to inhabit, as he had forced Sarah to endure.

  Tammy declared that Matthew Hoffman should never have the opportunity to play ball in a prison yard. He had robbed Kody Maynard of ever playing ball again on earth. She added, however, that Kody was now playing in God’s garden.

  Tammy wished that there wasn’t a deal in place to spare his life—that instead he would be strapped to an electric chair and executed. But since that couldn’t happen, she declared, “I hope Matthew Hoffman rots in hell!”

  Tina’s brother Jason Herrmann also had a statement for Judge Eyster. “This horrific episode has brought immense sorrow to my family, not to mention the hundreds of friends and acquaintances.” When Jason first learned of the disappearances, he said, he felt a sense of numbness and fear. He said there were days of disbelief and of hope. “It wasn’t until November 17, the saddest day of my
life, when my two brothers and I made the choice to walk through my sister’s house, that within minutes of entering the house, we were sure we would never see our loved ones again.”

  Jason felt sad and angry all the time. Sad that he knew Tina had struggled in an attempt to save her children. Sad for Kody, robbed of his life at such a young age. Sadness for his niece, Sarah, who would never see her mother or brother again, and had been robbed of her innocence. Jason related that no amount of restitution or punishment would ever compensate for the struggles Sarah would face in her life. He prayed she would not constantly be haunted by what happened.

  Jason said that he, and everyone around him, had had their lives turned upside down because of what Matthew Hoffman had done. His family had to face daily mental anguish and public inquiry. He and others now constantly questioned their security, their neighbors and “the good will of our common man.”

  “There is an absence of words, absence of emotion and absence of feelings that fills this void in my heart. I do not contain the capacity to put this onset of emotions into words. Extreme sadness is the only emotion I can define. I wish that Matthew J. Hoffman is sentenced to serve the hardest, most uncomfortable time possible for the rest of his breathing days.”

  Tracy Herrmann, Jason’s wife, also addressed the judge. She noted that she was so emotional that she felt overwhelmed. Tracy related that Tina was a hardworking mother, dedicated to creating a life of happiness for her children. “Kody and Sarah were beautiful children, great students, dedicated to baseball and softball. They were two innocent children just going through life like any child should.”

  Tracy stated that because Jason was so overwhelmed by what happened, it was she who had to explain the tragedy to their young children, eight and five years of age. She asked, “How do you explain something so horrific to children who have been blessed to know nothing but love?” She still had not fully explained to them what happened to their cousin Sarah, except to say a bad person had taken her and that he was now in jail because of what he had done. Tracy said that she knew that Kody had been protective of his sister, and that both children had fought all they could. “However, this monster, Matthew Hoffman, was pure evil and not able to be stopped by two little children.”

  Tracy related that since the first day she’d learned about the incident on King Beach Drive, she’d suffered from lack of sleep, weight loss, headaches and nausea. When she did fall asleep, she was haunted by nightmares. The most consistent thing she felt was fear. Fear of being alone in the house, fear of traveling alone to town, fear for the safety of her children.

  Tracy declared that Matthew Hoffman had ruined many, many lives. Not just their own friends and family, but the entire community as well. She felt sadness for all the investigators who worked countless hours on the case. She knew they would take the scars of this experience with them for the rest of their lives. Most of all, she said, she felt such a deep sadness for Sarah that at times she could not utter a word about it.

  Tracy ended by saying, “I believe wholeheartedly in the United States’ justice system and have faith that you will impose the maximum sentence on Matthew Hoffman.”

  Tina’s brother Bill Herrmann gave a statement similar to those of Jason and Tracy, adding that for years to come, they would have to celebrate birthdays, family events and holidays without Tina and Kody. Bill was extremely angry at Matthew Hoffman and didn’t mince his words. “You are a coward, a real piece of shit! I can only hope and pray that God takes you out soon. I hope you rot in hell, you be treated and tortured as you have done to our family member. If only the law would allow us, my brothers, Larry and I would enjoy the opportunity to dismember you alive!”

  Lisa Robey, Bill’s girlfriend, was just as adamant. “There is no amount of punishment that is even comparable to the heinous acts and level of brutality that Hoffmann put into the kidnapping, torturing and slaughtering of our family. If justice cannot be served here in this lifetime, he will experience it in full force when he reaches the fiery pits of hell.”

  Tina’s mother, Barbara Herrmann, expressed, “Matthew Hoffman is not a normal human being. He’s a ruthless, selfish animal who took the lives of three loving and caring individuals. He murdered them, cut them up into pieces, stuffed them all in garbage bags, and then if that was not enough, he proceeded to lower them into the hollow of a tree where they would be almost impossible to find. No mother should have to bury her baby girl and grandson at the same time.”

  And Larry’s mother, Sarah’s grandmother, Esther Maynard, related, “I cry all the time. How could I not? Sweet Kody and his mom, Tina, were taken from us in the worst possible way. I find myself shaking inside. The only way to describe this pain is to say that it’s as if I were shot in the heart by a shotgun.” Esther, like others, hoped that Matthew Hoffman would suffer all the torments of hell. “I beg that your days be long and full of agony as you deserve.”

  Belinda Thompson, Stephanie Sprang’s stepmother, hoped that Hoffman would suffer hell on earth, as well as in the hereafter. She prayed that he would constantly be looking over his shoulder in prison, afraid of who might rape him or kill him. That he never know one more moment of peace.

  “My wish is that you remember I will never forgive you. I will never forget that I look forward to the day you live eternally with the demons of hell. May you be torched and burned over and over, forever. I will hate you to the day I die for what you have done to my family and my community.”

  Stephanie’s daughter Trisha said, “The pain I have endured is unbearable. Not only have I lost a mother who I’ll never get back, but I feel like I’ve lost my younger brother [Kody] for whom I’ve played the role of a second mom.”

  Trisha related that two weeks prior to the events of November 10, she and Stephanie had been squabbling, as mothers and teenage daughters often do. Trisha found it incredible now that she couldn’t know then how little time she had left with her mother. “I never thought I’d lose her and become completely helpless. Everyone tries to help me, but no one can help like her. She knew what to say and how to say it.”

  Tracy Maynard, Larry’s wife, asked Matthew Hoffman, “How could you do this to our family? How can you call yourself a human being for that matter? What kind of man preys on two innocent women and children?”

  Tracy spoke of how she had to try and explain all of this to her four-year-old son, AJ, who woke up crying every day because he missed his big brother, Kody. Tracy said she had to explain that Kody and his mom Tina were now in heaven. “You have ripped my family apart mentally and physically. It’s hard to go on with life since things will never be normal again and this tragedy has changed our lives forever.”

  Tracy was angry that because of the plea deal, Matthew continued to live on earth. That was something he’d denied to Tina, Kody and Stephanie. She added, “I hope you suffer every day like my family will, except the difference is I am human and you are not.”

  Larry Maynard read a portion of Matthew 18 from the New Testament. “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’”

  Larry related the story of Jesus calling the little child to him, and his words: “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble!”

  Larry said later, “I purposely picked a verse from Matthew to see how Matthew Hoffman would react to that. He didn’t react at all. He just stared down at the desk in front of him.”

  Larry was just as angry at Matthew Hoffman as the others had been; he said in his statement, “I don’t even know where to begin. My kids are my world, like most parents. On November 10, my life as I knew it changed forever. The children that Tina Herrmann and I brought
into this world, Kody and Sarah Maynard, were two beautiful kids. Sarah was only four pounds, nine ounces, and six weeks premature. Kody was five pounds, seven ounces and was a preemie also.

  “I could hold each one of them in the palm of my hand. When God gave me these two beautiful kids, I knew I was responsible for more than just myself. These two precious babies depended on me and looked up to me as their father. A child’s bond is like no other love or bond I believe you can have with anything else on earth.

  “Matthew Hoffman, when you took my son from me by brutally stabbing him to death and then cutting up his body like a piece of meat, a majority of me died with him.

  “I am very thankful my daughter lived despite the wrath of your evil. But she will never be the bubbly little innocent girl she once was. My son, Kody, was a straight-A student who had dreams of going into the Coast Guard and being a helicopter pilot. He would have saved a lot of lives. He was that type of kid. So you didn’t just take him from our family, you deprived America of a great human being.

  “I used to think that the parent was the teacher of children, but they taught me more about love than I ever knew existed. Matthew, my son was on this earth for eleven years, and I guarantee you, he made more of a positive impact and showed more love than you have shown in your entire life. Matthew Hoffman, you are a coward, a spawn of the devil. Any man who can harm two innocent women and two innocent kids, is a pathetic person.

  “Whatever they do to you today won’t even be half as much as God will do to you on Judgment Day. I hope you are cast into the fiery pits of hell, you sorry excuse for a human being. I hope you wake up every day thinking of Tina, Kody, Sarah and Stephanie. And I hope you get jailhouse justice. Maybe God can forgive some day, but I sure the hell never will!