218:, intent on robbing the place. During said robbery, they shot the owner John Montford Lyle in the head, killing him instantly. After stealing some money, the pair returned to Atchison, where they hid it in a box under some baby clothing. Not long after, Hunter's girlfriend and her roommate were questioned by police, and they soon implicated Hunter and Paxton in the murder.
362:
Ervin maintained his innocence in the double murder throughout the proceedings until his death, claiming that he had been at home at the time of the crime. When questioned, he claimed that Hunter had left with a third man he did not recognize, alleging that this unnamed individual was the one who had
300:
When
Mildred's body was eventually found and police were called, officers at the scene noticed a notepad that contained one part of a license plate number, presumably written down by Mildred. An examination of that number led them to Ervin, who provided the authorities of receipts from job offers in
283:
While the
Hodgeses pleaded for their lives and promised not to call the police, Hunter and Ervin did not want to leave witnesses, so they each suffocated the two victims with plastic trash bags they had brought. They then left the home and returned in the evening, ransacking the place and wrapping
225:
for killing Lyle, with the former attempting to have the trial judge dismissed by alleging bias against him. Both men were found guilty of the murder, and shortly after his sentence, Hunter attempted to file an appeal for a new trial. Under
Missouri's second offender law, he was eligible for the
353:
on the aforementioned date. His final words were reportedly “There is no justice. It’s time for this nightmare to be over, as far as I’m concerned.” His lawyer, Cheryl Rafert, would later claim that he had violently convulsed during the procedure, a claim circulated by groups opposing the death
279:
parked in front of a house, and since he assumed that the owner was wealthy, he convinced Hunter to rob whoever was inside. The latter posed as a delivery man and knocked on the door, which 75-year-old
Mildred Lorene Hodges opened. The pair then forced their way in, alerting the woman's son,
270:
In
November 1988, Hunter visited Ervin at his home in Jefferson City, where the pair discussed ways to make money quickly. They initially considered robbing a bank, but Ervin suggested that they should kidnap someone and force them to withdraw money from a bank account.
337:
Hunter received a new execution date scheduled for June 28, 2000. Whilst he initially had pleaded guilty and requested the death sentence, he later changed his mind and unsuccessfully attempted to withdraw the plea, arguing that he was mentally ill at the time.
301:
an attempt to produce an alibi - instead, he accidentally placed himself in
Paducah on the date that the burned Lincoln Continental was found. Not long after, they traced another license plate to Hunter, who had been imprisoned in Florida on a parole violation.
254:, Hunter befriended Tomas Grant Ervin, a fellow murderer who was serving a life term for stabbing 36-year-old taxi cab driver Robert Berry to death in 1967. Both men were eventually granted parole in their respective cases, with Hunter moving to
274:
This idea was put on hold for about a month as Hunter briefly returned to Largo. When he returned to
Jefferson City, the pair decided to carry out their plan and drove around town. On December 15, Ervin noticed a luxurious
241:
officer had told him that he would only be prosecuted for stealing $ 50 if he confessed. His appeal was dismissed by the presiding judge, who stated that his claim was unreasonable and stretched credulity.
304:
Both men were put on trial for the murders, were found guilty, and each was sentenced to death. At his own trial, Hunter pleaded guilty and requested that he be sentenced to death, as he was reportedly
354:
penalty. Three reporters present at the execution, however, claimed that no such thing had happened and they had only seen Hunter cough a few times before succumbing to the effects of the drug.
203:
Hunter's first known crime dates back to 1963, when the then-16-year-old and 19-year-old Oscar
Hoskins were arrested on a burglary charge in relation to a break-in into a gas station in
366:
Like Hunter before him, all of Ervin's appeals were denied. He was executed via lethal injection at the Potosi
Correctional Center on March 28, 2001, still professing his innocence.
310:
818:
237:, claiming that his rights had been violated because his confession to the Lyle murder had allegedly been obtained under duress. In the brief, he claimed that the arresting
630:
813:
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402:
397:
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and suicidal at the time. When an initial execution date was set for 1994, an appeal on Hunter's behalf was filed by an anti-death penalty group. The
195:
for their respective roles in the murders, despite Ervin maintaining his innocence. Hunter was executed in 2000, while Ervin was executed in 2001.
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214:, and would periodically visit her along with a friend named Carl W. Paxton. On June 15, 1968, Hunter and Paxton went to a tavern in
778:
823:
838:
288:, leaving Mildred's decomposing body at the house. Afterwards, Hunter and Ervin drove with the stolen Lincoln Continental to
280:
49-year-old
Richard Earl Hodges, who came running to help. Instead, the intruders forced him to bind and tie up his mother.
292:, where they planned to rob a bank, but instead abandoned the car at a parking lot in front of an inn and set it on fire.
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207:. As he was considered a juvenile at the time, Hunter was given a lenient sentence and was released a few years later.
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just hours prior to Hunter's scheduled execution, much to the annoyance of the contemporary
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up the bodies in trash bags and duct tape. They then dumped Richard's body in a marsh near
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184:. He is best known for committing the double murder of an elderly woman and her son in
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695:"Murderer who once said he wanted to be executed is to be put to death tonight"
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631:"Mildred Hodges and Richard Hodges Murders: Is Bert Hunter Dead or Alive?"
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321:
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United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri
548:"Lance explains Supreme Court decision on Hunter murder appeal"
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declined all appeals, and Hunter was subsequently executed via
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Following his release, Hunter got a girlfriend who lived in
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The murders of the Hodgeses were covered on an episode of
721:"Lawyer says client convulsed violently during execution"
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A couple of months later, Hunter filed an appeal to the
188:, in 1988, together with accomplice Tomas Grant Ervin.
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death penalty, but the jury instead sentenced him to
819:
Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Missouri
654:"New appeal is filed today to stay execution at PCC"
403:
List of people executed in the United States in 2001
398:
List of people executed in the United States in 2000
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814:American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
221:Hunter and Paxton were ordered to stand trial in
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439:. September 24, 1963 – via Newspapers.com.
180:(March 7, 1947 – June 28, 2000) was an American
809:People executed by Missouri by lethal injection
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592:
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718:
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564:
295:
682:. August 26, 1994 – via Newspapers.com.
492:"Hunter Given 10 Days to File New Trial Plea"
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552:Savannah Reporter and Andrew County Democrat
480:. April 10, 1969 – via Newspapers.com.
478:Savannah Reporter and Andrew County Democrat
460:Savannah Reporter and Andrew County Democrat
554:. July 16, 1970 – via Newspapers.com.
536:. July 15, 1970 – via Newspapers.com.
408:List of serial killers in the United States
388:List of people executed by lethal injection
369:
744:"Former St. Joseph man awaiting execution"
567:"Former St. Joseph man awaiting execution"
518:. May 23, 1969 – via Newspapers.com.
198:
498:. May 2, 1969 – via Newspapers.com.
462:. May 8, 1969 – via Newspapers.com.
751:. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
573:. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
789:People convicted of murder by Missouri
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595:"Who Was Tomas Ervin? How Did He Die?"
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829:People from Buchanan County, Missouri
794:American people convicted of burglary
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378:, titled "Wrong Side of the Tracks".
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431:"Youth, 16, to Be Tried as an Adult"
799:21st-century executions by Missouri
674:"Execution halted with hours to go"
393:List of people executed in Missouri
250:While serving his life term at the
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609:
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530:"Conviction of Hunter Is Affirmed"
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420:
14:
850:
834:People paroled from life sentence
741:Marshall White (March 28, 2001).
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629:Viswa Vanapalli (June 29, 2022).
593:Viswa Vanapalli (June 30, 2022).
565:Marshall White (March 28, 2001).
474:"Hunter requests new trial judge"
804:Executed American serial killers
652:Leroy Sigman (August 25, 1994).
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779:20th-century American criminals
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16:Executed American serial killer
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824:Executed people from Missouri
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239:Missouri State Highway Patrol
78:Execution by lethal injection
839:Serial killers from Missouri
693:Tim O'Neil (June 27, 2000).
7:
727:– via Newspapers.com.
719:Tim O'Neil (July 6, 2000).
703:– via Newspapers.com.
662:– via Newspapers.com.
510:"Hunter Gets Life Sentence"
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296:Arrest, trial, and sentence
252:Missouri State Penitentiary
191:Both Hunter and Ervin were
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456:"Jury finds Hunter guilty"
351:Potosi Correctional Center
62:Potosi Correctional Center
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258:, while Ervin settled in
235:Supreme Court of Missouri
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679:Belleville News-Democrat
370:In the media and culture
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260:Jefferson City, Missouri
186:Jefferson City, Missouri
784:American male criminals
725:St. Louis Post-Dispatch
700:St. Louis Post-Dispatch
199:First crimes and murder
66:Mineral Point, Missouri
749:St. Joseph News-Press
571:St. Joseph News-Press
496:St. Joseph News-Press
436:St. Joseph News-Press
363:killed the Hodgeses.
307:clinically depressed
277:Lincoln Continental
246:Meeting Tomas Ervin
133:Span of crimes
96:First degree murder
74:Cause of death
43:Rushville, Missouri
534:St. Joseph Gazette
515:St. Joseph Gazette
216:Amazonia, Missouri
193:sentenced to death
641:on April 7, 2023.
605:on July 10, 2022.
315:stay of execution
290:Paducah, Kentucky
228:life imprisonment
178:Bert Leroy Hunter
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107:Life imprisonment
23:Bert Leroy Hunter
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637:. Archived from
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347:lethal injection
319:Attorney General
212:Atchison, Kansas
163:Date apprehended
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103:Criminal penalty
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635:TheCinemaholic
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39:March 7, 1947
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167:January 1989
56:(2000-06-28)
774:2000 deaths
769:1947 births
763:Categories
414:References
328:Executions
98:(3 counts)
35:1947-03-07
341:Governor
322:Jay Nixon
313:issued a
137:1968–1988
382:See also
223:Savannah
205:Winthrop
156:Missouri
151:State(s)
349:at the
142:Country
124:Victims
119:Details
333:Hunter
286:Marion
114:(1989)
109:(1969)
68:, U.S.
45:, U.S.
358:Ervin
112:Death
51:Died
29:Born
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64:,
127:3
37:)
33:(
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