Benny Lee Hodge
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- Gender
- male
- Country
- USA
- Location
- Letcher County, Kentucky, USA
- Date of birth
- August 9, 1951
- Age at first offence
- 34
- Characteristics
- robbery
- Victim profile
- Bessie and Edwin Morris / Tammy Acker
- Method of murder
- Shooting / St abbing with knife
- Date(s) of murder
- June 16/August 8, 1985
- Years active
- 1985
- Date of arrest
- August 15, 1985
- Status
-
Sentenced to death
Sentenced to death on June 20, 1986 and November 22, 1996
Case identifiers
- Name: Benny Lee Hodge
- Date of birth: 8-9-51
Outcome
Benny Lee Hodge was sentenced to death on June 20, 1986 and November 22, 1996.
Background
The United States Court of Appeals For the Sixth Circuit opinion number 06-6027 involved Hodge. The Supreme Court of Kentucky opinion number 1996-SC-1085-MR involved Hodge.
The offences
Case #1: Murder of Tammy Acker (Letcher County, 1985)
Benny Lee Hodge, along with Roger Epperson, entered the home of a Fleming-Neon, Kentucky physician on the night of August 8, 1985. Hodge and two accomplices choked the man unconscious. During the robbery, Hodge and his accomplices stabbed the physician’s daughter, Tammy Acker, to death. The robbery involved taking $1.9 million, handguns, and jewelry.
In 1985, Hodge was described as stabbing a female victim 12 times with a butcher knife during a robbery at her father’s home in Letcher County. The victim’s body was found with the butcher knife stuck through her chest and imbedded in the floor. Her father was strangled with an electric cord but survived.
Case #2: Murder and robbery of Bessie and Edwin Morris (Gray Hawk, Kentucky, 1985)
Benny Lee Hodge received a second death sentence on November 22, 1996 for the murder and robbery of Bessie and Edwin Morris in their home in Gray Hawk, Kentucky on June 16, 1985.
Mr. and Mrs. Morris were found with their hands and feet tied behind them. Mrs. Morris was shot twice in the back. Mr. Morris died as a result of a gunshot wound to his head, two blunt force head injuries, and obstructed breathing caused by a ligature gag.
Investigation and arrest
Hodge was arrested in Florida on August 15, 1985. The arrest in Florida was also noted in connection with both case descriptions: Hodge was arrested in Florida for Case #1, and for Case #2.
Sentencing
- June 20, 1986: Hodge was sentenced to death in Letcher County along with Roger Epperson for the murder of Tammy Acker.
- November 22, 1996: Hodge received a second death sentence for the murder and robbery of Bessie and Edwin Morris in Gray Hawk, Kentucky on June 16, 1985.
Victims
- Case #1: Tammy Acker
- The father survived strangulation with an electric cord.
- Case #2: Bessie Morris and Edwin Morris
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