“Laugh!” Hembree said to Bell, who had turned his back to the convicted killer and walked away. “But the truth’s the truth!”
Jurors looked at each other: What just happened?
That was it. The judge called a recess.
Hembree’s defense team asked to withdraw from the case.
The judge approved the request.
The state objected, arguing that Hembree should represent himself because he had caused the entire problem. The trial should go on. The state should not be punished.
Standing now behind his table, both lawyers flanking him, Hembree went on a rant, shouting, “No matter what the state says, I got a conflict with these two guys!”
As he said that, Shellie Nations, who had sat and listened to Hembree’s antics and long-winded outbursts long enough, stood, pointed at Hembree, and shouted: “I got a conflict with you, too! You killed my sister! Did you not say you killed my sister? You son of a bitch!”
Hembree turned around in utter shock, his upper lip quivering. He seemed startled, rattled, surprised by Shellie’s eruption.
Shellie was immediately taken into custody by sheriffs.
In the end, the judge declared a mistrial.
Which was maybe what Danny Hembree had planned all along.
CHAPTER 120
One of the problems for ADA Hamlin arising out of this latest fiasco, something she wanted to clear up, was how the media reported what took place inside the courtroom that day. Some of the reporting had brought Stephanie to tears that night when she saw it.
Reading and watching some of the reporting, if one didn’t know better, one would come out of it thinking Stephanie Hamlin and Danny Hembree had had sex. That’s what many locals thought. The thread of the story surrounding the bogus letter to the AG’s office was not a part of the reporting. Stephanie would go to her local supermarket and people would stop her and say, “Aren’t you the prosecutor that had sex with that killer? You were the reason why it was mistried!”
No one in the media focused on the fact that Hembree’s statement on the stand was untrue. The way it was reported made it seem as though Hembree had testified to having sex with the prosecutor. No media outlet reported how, in a hearing earlier in the trial, it had been discussed that the letter was a false document and everyone—including the judge and Hembree’s lawyers—agreed.
“What hurt me so bad is that I am friends with a lot of them (reporters) who covered the trial,” Hamlin told me later.
CHAPTER 121
As the days and months went on, ADA Hamlin and DA Bell wondered what in the heck Hembree was going to do next. How could they try him for Randi’s murder and assure that he not make a spectacle of the court? He was sure to cause problems if they went back to trial. Hembree was having fun, exploring all layers of his narcissism.
There was also the issue of Hembree “becoming obsessed” with Hamlin and her family, ADA Hamlin had heard from a source.
Hembree knew “way more” than anyone should have known about the prosecutor. It seemed he wanted to destroy her.
After long discussions with Hembree and his attorneys, Shellie Nations, and others involved in the case, the state decided to offer Hembree a plea.
On Tuesday, February 5, 2013, surprising everyone, Danny Hembree took that plea, which resulted in a twenty-six-year sentence for murdering Randi Saldana.
Part of the plea, however, was that the state would dismiss Hembree’s potential connection to the murder of Deborah Ratchford.
Shellie Nations recalled being there to hear the plea: “I think he finally realized he had been defeated. He took my sister’s life. You see, the only prayer I have for his life is that when he meets his Maker, those two girls, Randi and Heather, are standing, side by side, and they take a piece of him like he took a piece of them.”
CHAPTER 122
It was a year after Randi’s murder. By then Shellie Nations had explained to Randi’s son—the boy Shellie had custody of—who his mother was. It was a graceful, tragic moment in many ways. Shellie had fulfilled her sister’s wish. Shellie was alone in the car with the boy. It was just the two of them. The moment she finished explaining the situation to the child, Shellie couldn’t believe it, but she heard three knocks on the back windshield of her car. They were driving down the road at the time.
“Did you hear that?” Shellie asked Randi’s son.
He looked over at his aunt. His “eyes were big” and bulged, Shellie recalled. It was an OMG moment.
“Did you hear that?” Shellie asked again.
“Them three knocks?” the boy asked.
“I had never told him about the knocks or how many,” Shellie explained. “He came out with it. I felt like it was Randi sitting right behind us in the car, telling me it was all okay now. And I knew. I knew,” Shellie added through tears, “Randi was telling me it was all okay now.”
EPILOGUE
I wrote to Danny Hembree as I began this project in late 2011. It was a short letter introducing myself. I promised to give him the space he needed to tell his story.
Hembree wrote back immediately. He opened his missive by saying he didn’t “need” me to tell his story, and the “cleverly disguised wording” of my letter to him had “fallen on deaf ears.” He explained how we lived in America and I could “write what the fuck” I wanted “to write.” He said I hadn’t done my research, because he would never agree to interviews with me through letter writing. Only in person.
Then came the feelings of inadequacy many narcissists cannot hide from. Hembree said “just because” he was a “convicted killer” did not mean he was “stupid.”
He didn’t know if I was a “crock pot or what.” (Hembree actually meant “crackpot.”) He bragged that his “story” was about a “hell of a lot more than 3 murders.”
After that, he wrote one of his more interesting comments. Saying how crime fans would “eat up” his life story of crime and the things he had not yet talked about, Hembree added, Not to mention the other bodies that haven’t been found yet.
He said if I was serious about interviewing him, I would make the trip to the North Carolina prison where he resided and interview him in person. Once there, if he liked what I had to say, I’ll participate, he wrote.
Power and control. Hembree’s two most prevalent traits at play. He was baiting me.
There was not a chance I was going to waste my time. I could see him sitting behind the glass (or refusing to see me at all) and laughing at my appearance.
So I wrote back.
I told him he needed to begin writing to me if he wanted his voice heard. I would not be visiting him without first having a commitment in writing and him beginning to tell me his story vis-à-vis letters and/or phone conversations. We could do those interviews quite easily. Then, after I was comfortable he was not playing me, I would visit him.
Never heard from Danny Hembree again.
I contacted Hembree’s sister, Kathy Ledbetter, and we had several conversations and exchanged several e-mails. Kathy wanted to help; I know she did. But in the end, she refused and told me to stop contacting her.
I conducted over one hundred interviews for this book and reviewed thousands of pages of documents. I want to thank everyone for their honesty, integrity, and willingness to tell their stories.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I want to thank everyone who helped with this project, especially Stephanie Hamlin, who made sure I had all of the evidence available, and answered countless questions and what must have been hundreds of e-mails. Without her help, I don’t know that I could have completed this book. There were others, too: Nick Catterton, Shellie Nations, Sommer Heffner, Matt Hensley, Michel Sumner, and all of those sources that have chosen to remain anonymous. Those behind the scenes at my publisher—especially my longtime editor, Michaela Hamilton—and in my life (friends and family), thank you again. Fans of my Investigation Discovery series, Dark Minds, thank you for watching! My road crew, Peter, Jared, and Co
lette; producers Jeannie Vink and Andrew Farrell. And lastly, my readers (and viewers): As always, I am indebted to you, humbled by your dedication and continuous support—thank you from the bottom of my heart and core of my soul.
Photo by Investigation Discover/Dark Minds
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Crime writer and investigative journalist M. William Phelps is the author of twenty-four nonfiction books and a serial killer thriller, The Dead Soul. He has conducted dozens of interviews with experts in the fields of serial killers and criminal psychology, regularly communicates with several incarcerated serial killers, and has dedicated his working life to unraveling the mind of the serial offender. He consulted on the first season of the Showtime series Dexter, has been profiled in Writer’s Digest, Connecticut Magazine, New York Daily News, New York Post, Newsday, Suspense Magazine, and the Hartford Courant, and has written for Connecticut Magazine. Winner of the New England Book Festival Award for I’ll Be Watching You and the Editor’s Choice Award from True Crime Book Reviews for Death Trap, Phelps has appeared on nearly one hundred television shows, including CBS’s Early Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s The View, TLC, BIO Channel, and the History Channel.
Phelps created, produces, and stars in the hit Investigation Discovery series Dark Minds, which focuses on unsolved, cold serial killer cases, now in its third season; and is one of the stars of ID’s Deadly Women. Radio America called him “the nation’s leading authority on the mind of the female murderer.” Touched by tragedy himself, due to the unsolved murder of his pregnant sister-in-law, Phelps is able to enter the hearts and minds of his subjects like no one else. He lives in a small Connecticut farming community and can be reached at his website, www.mwilliamphelps.com.
A foot was visible in the brush just off a dirt road in York County, South Carolina, where the half-naked body of an unknown female was discovered on October 29, 2009. (Courtesy of State of North Carolina, 27A Prosecutorial District)
Down the road from the body, clothing was found and York County Sheriff’s Office investigators believed they were now searching for a killer. (Courtesy of State of North Carolina, 27A Prosecutorial District)
A red shirt was discovered beside a bridge on the North Carolina/South Carolina border, leading investigators to believe it belonged to a young female found in another jurisdiction. (Courtesy of State of North Carolina, 27A Prosecutorial District)
The unknown female’s clothing was displayed for the media to help identify the victim. (Courtesy of State of North Carolina, 27A Prosecutorial District)
Growing up, Heather Marie Catterton was known as the girl with “the smile of an angel.” Heather often helped other students with homework and dreamed of one day working with special-needs children. (Courtesy of Nick Catterton)
Heather Catterton always found a reason to smile. (Courtesy of Nick Catterton)
Heather was 17 years old when her body was found; she had been strangled and asphyxiated. (Courtesy of Nick Catterton)
Nearly two weeks after Heather Catterton’s body was discovered, the badly charred and burned remains of another woman were found in a state park in the same county. (Courtesy of State of North Carolina, 27A Prosecutorial District)
Stunning and beautiful, with a million dollar smile, Randi Saldana was a mother, sister, and daughter. Randi’s remains led North and South Carolina law enforcement to believe a serial killer was prowling their streets. (Courtesy of Shellie Nations)
Randi’s sister, Shellie Nations (with long blond hair), would prove to be Randi’s voice when her killer was later brought to trial. (Courtesy of Shellie Nations)
Gaston County Police Detective Matthew Hensley was determined to see Randi and Heather’s killer brought to justice.
Assistant District Attorney Stephanie A. Hamlin, a pivotal player in the prosecution of Danny Hembree, would become embroiled in the serial killer’s wicked, made-up tales as his case went before a jury. (Courtesy of Debbie Gulledge)
Detective Matthew Hensley (left) and his partner, Michel Sumner (right), question main suspect Danny Robbie Hembree (top) about his role in the murders of Randi Saldana and Heather Catterton. (Courtesy of State of North Carolina, 27A Prosecutorial District)
Forty-seven-year-old career criminal Danny Robbie Hembree was arrested on December 6, 2009, for the murders of Randi Saldana and Heather Catterton after he admitted killing both of them and three additional women. (Courtesy of State of North Carolina, 27A Prosecutorial District)
Inside a closet in the basement of his mother’s house, among stuffed animals and children’s toys, Danny Hembree kept the bloody bodies of his victims hidden. (Courtesy of State of North Carolina, 27A Prosecutorial District)
The blood-soaked couch in the den of his mother’s house where Hembree said he often watched porn—but also strangled Randi Saldana and beat her in the face. (Courtesy of State of North Carolina, 27A Prosecutorial District)
Large and small blood stains and smears were found on the carpet in the basement of Danny Hembree’s mother’s house. (Courtesy of State of North Carolina, 27A Prosecutorial District)
The basement of his mother’s house was where Hembree stored his victims’ bodies for several days. (Courtesy of State of North Carolina, 27A Prosecutorial District)
This laundry area in the basement of his mother’s house was where Hembree suffocated and strangled Heather Catterton as she searched for a cigarette lighter on a nearby shelf. (Courtesy of State of North Carolina, 27A Prosecutorial District)
The severed lamp cord Hembree used to bind Randi Saldana’s legs together before dragging her out of the basement and into his vehicle. (Courtesy of State of North Carolina, 27A Prosecutorial District)
Danny Hembree’s blood-stained boots—evidence he was proud to show off for law enforcement. (Courtesy of State of North Carolina, 27A Prosecutorial District)
Danny Hembree, inside his mother’s house with detectives Matthew Hensley and Michel Sumner, explained where they could find his bloody boots. (Courtesy of State of North Carolina, 27A Prosecutorial District)
On December 6, 2009, after spending hours admitting the murders of Randi Saldana and Heather Catterton (along with three other women), Danny Hembree took detectives on a guided tour of his mother’s house, explaining where and how he murdered Randi and Heather. (Courtesy of State of North Carolina, 27A Prosecutorial District)
The changing faces of Danny Hembree: with a mustache in 2007; without in 2010. (Courtesy of State of North Carolina, 27A Prosecutorial District)
Standing outside his mother’s house talking to Michel Sumner, Danny Hembree admitted to a vicious rape and attempted murder—and then told Detective Matt Hensley where to find several “trophies” he kept from Randi Saldana’s murder. (Courtesy of State of North Carolina, 27A Prosecutorial District)
To prove that he killed Randi Saldana, Danny Hembree hid these “trophies” (necklaces and bracelets belonging to Randi) inside the glove compartment of his vehicle. (Courtesy of State of North Carolina, 27A Prosecutorial District)
Seventeen-year-old Heather Catterton was murdered because her killer believed he “was doing her a favor.” Heather’s father, Nick, says there’s not a day that goes by when he does not shed a tear for his little girl. (Courtesy of Nick Catterton)
Some names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals connected to this story.
KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by
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Copyright © 2014 by M. William Phelps
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
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Library of Congress Card Catalogue Number: 2014934216
ISBN: 978-1-6177-3445-8
ISBN-10: 1-61773-445-4
First Kens
ington Hardcover: July 2014
eISBN-13: 978-1-61773-446-5
eISBN-10: 1-61773-446-2
First Kensington Electronic Edition: July 2014
Notes
1 See http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/narcissistic-personality-disorder/DS00652, where this quote is derived from, for additional information about NPD.
2 “The Predictability of Juries,” by Valerie Hans and Theodore Eisenberg (1/1/2011: http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1201&context=facpub)
The Killing Kind Page 35