A man who severely beat a 94-year-old woman to death while on meth has had his murder conviction overturned after a sexual relationship between the presiding judge and prosecutor in the case surfaced.
In a 3-2 decision, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ordered a new trial for defendant Robert Leon Hashagen III, who was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder in 2021.
Hashagen’s attorneys later appealed after new evidence emerged of an undisclosed sexual relationship between the trial court judge, Timothy Henderson, and one of the prosecutors.
Hashagen’s case could see hundreds of others overseen by Henderson looked at again.
A first-degree murder conviction has been thrown out because of a sexual relationship between judge Timothy Henderson and a prosecutor in the case
The majority opinion found that ‘the undisclosed relationship violated Hashagen’s due process rights.’
‘It is no exaggeration to state that the very integrity of the judiciary in Oklahoma is at stake here,’ attorney James Lockard argued in a defense appellate brief.
‘If a man can be convicted and sentenced to die in prison at a trial before a judge and prosecutor who were literally in bed together, then no citizen of Oklahoma can or should expect to get a fair trial in any Oklahoma court.’
On the morning of July 5 2013 Evelyn Goodall, a 94-year-old gardener and avid bird-watcher, was beaten and died later in hospital.
‘Hurry, hurry. I’m dying. Please send the police. Please hurry. I’m bleeding to death,’ she told an emergency dispatcher according to the Oklahoman.
Two days after the attack, Goodall died at a hospital from blunt force trauma, according to the state medical examiner.
Hashagen, who was a former neighbor of Goodall, was convicted of felony murder in the commission of a burglary in 2021.
Hashagen’s case could see hundreds of others overseen by Henderson looked at again
Hashagen was convicted for breaking into Goodall’s home and assaulting her before tying her up and stealing from her home
Investigators said around 6:30 am July 5, 2013, Goodall was sitting in the dining room of her home when a man bolted through her back door.
He threw powder in her direction and then assaulted her – taping her arms and legs he then placed furniture on top of her to confine her, and went through the house.
Goodall later was able to crawl to the phone and call police but was covered in ‘blood from her head to her feet’ when responding officers arrived.
Witnesses described Hashagen as a ‘doper who was an odd person in the neighborhood who should be looked at,’ according to the affidavit written at the time of the incident.
Hashagen had previously been convicted in the past of methamphetamine and firearm offenses. He also has arrests related to domestic abuse complaints, records show.
Hashagen admitted to using meth around the time of the killing and that he was a former police officer, authorities reported.
His DNA was found in Goodall’s bra after a 2010 burglary case and again in 2013 on toilet paper, police said at the time.
Defense attorneys argued at the time that Hashagen’s DNA could have been transferred to Goodall’s house because he visited there several times.
Goodall frequently borrowed a fan from the house where Hashagen stayed.
‘Just because your DNA is in a place doesn’t mean you were there,’ defense attorney Clay Curtis told juror during closing arguments at the time.
On the morning of July 5 2013 Evelyn Goodall, a 94-year-old gardener and avid bird-watcher, was beaten to death
Hashagen, who was a former neighbor of Goodall, was convicted of felony murder in the commission of a burglary in 2021. He admitted to being on meth at the time
Attorneys for Hashagen argued the tape used to bind Goodall is common to contractors and handymen, and Hashagen having the tape didn’t prove he murdered Goodall.
Now, Curtis told CBS affiliate KWTV that his client is ‘presumed innocent once again.’
Co-counsel, Benjamin Munda, told the Washington Post that the ruling to overturn the conviction was ‘the only proper outcome.’
‘It would call into question the integrity of the entire proceeding,’ Munda said. ‘So I think the court did the right thing.’
Henderson’s relationship with the prosecutor who remains anonymous ended before the trial began in 2021 – but Judge William Musseman wrote in the majority opinion that it did not ‘remove our concern as to the trial judge’s potential bias.’
The appellate effort argued six different points, the appeals court noted, but the judges only needed one to order a new trial.
Henderson resigned in March 2021 after three female attorneys came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
He was never charged and has described the sexual involvement with two of the women as consensual.
‘My rulings were fair and supported by the evidence and facts presented by the attorneys,’ Henderson said at an evidentiary hearing in November 2021.
Hashagen’s new trial date has yet to be set.
Henderson presided over a number of high-profile criminal trials as a judge, including that of ex-Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw, who Henderson sentenced to life in prison in 2016 after he was convicted of raping and sexually victimizing women while on his beat in Oklahoma City.
Co-counsel, Benjamin Munda, said that the ruling to overturn the conviction was ‘the only proper outcome’
Hashagen’s case could see hundreds of others overseen by Henderson looked at again, according to KFOR.
Attorney Robert Gifford, whose client Aaron Thomas Brock was sentenced to 35 years in prison for robbing a southwest Oklahoma City motel at knife point in 2015, has also asked for a new trial.
Gifford said Henderson oversaw the trial and the misconduct now casts doubt on hundreds of other cases because of potential constitutional rights violations, or due process.
‘Did somebody receive all the rights that they were entitled to? Were they able to go through the process and receive fair treatment? He [Brock] did not receive a fair trial [and] he did not receive a fair sentence,’ Gifford said.
The case was reassigned to a judge in Canadian County for a post-conviction review.
‘The judge out of Canadian County found that due process had been violated, that the appearance of the sexual relationship between the prosecutor and the judge could not stand and reversed the conviction and set up for a new trial,’ he added.
‘They actually made a recommendation for an appropriate sentence that he should [have] received the first time,’ he continued.
‘He ended up getting close to time served, but it took him seven-and-a-half years to get there.’
Oklahoma County’s District Attorney’s office said they’ve notified other individuals whose cases were heard before Judge Henderson between 2016 and his retirement.
They said they plan to review applications for post-conviction relief as they come in.