Waneta Ethel Hoyt

Case information

Waneta Ethel (Nixon) Hoyt was born in Richford, New York, and died in prison on August 13, 1998, at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women.

Status

On September 11, 1995, she was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison. She died in prison on August 13, 1998.

Timeline

• January 11, 1964 — Hoyt dropped out of Newark Valley High School in the 10th grade to marry Tim Hoyt.
• October 17, 1964 — Their son Eric was born.
• January 26, 1965 — Eric died.
• May 31, 1966 — Their child James was born.
• September 26, 1968 — James died.
• July 19, 1968 — Their child Julie was born.
• September 5, 1968 — Julie died.
• March 18, 1970 — Their child Molly was born.
• June 5, 1970 — Molly died.
• May 9, 1971 — Their child Noah was born.
• July 28, 1971 — Noah died.
• 1972 — Dr. Alfred Steinschneider published an article in the Journal Pediatrics proposing a connection between sleep apnea and SIDS.
• 1985 — A prosecutor in a neighboring county consulted forensic pathologist Dr. Linda Norton after encountering a case initially thought to involve SIDS.
• 1986 — Dr. Linda Norton worked on a case involving a father who had murdered his three young children.
• 1992 — A prosecutor became District Attorney and tracked down the Hoyt case.
• March 23, 1994 — Five charges of second-degree murder were filed against Waneta Hoyt.
• March 1994 — The case was transferred to the District Attorney of the county where the Hoyts resided due to jurisdictional issues.
• April 25, 1995 — A jury found her guilty of murder of five of her children.
• September 11, 1995 — She was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison.
• August 13, 1998 — She died in prison of pancreatic cancer.

Background

Hoyt was the sixth of eight children born to Arthur Nixon, a Richford, New York laborer, and Dorothy, a seamstress.

She met Tim Hoyt on a school bus in ninth grade. Two years later, at 17, she dropped out of high school in the 10th grade to marry Tim Hoyt. She gave birth to Eric within nine months.

After the deaths of their biological children, the couple adopted a child, Jay, who remained healthy through childhood.

The last two biological Hoyt children, Molly and Noah, were subjects of pediatric research conducted by Dr. Alfred Steinschneider, who published an article in 1972 in the Journal Pediatrics proposing a connection between sleep apnea and SIDS. The article was described as controversial.

The offence

Between 1965 and 1971, five of Hoyt’s six children died, and Hoyt later confessed that she killed the five children by suffocation.

Hoyt claimed that the children stopped breathing and that they died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and the original diagnoses were that the children had died of SIDS.

During interrogation, she confessed to suffocation of all five children, and she later recanted.

Victims

Hoyt killed 5 of her 6 children.

• Eric — born October 17, 1964; died January 26, 1965 (101 days after he was born).
• James — born May 31, 1966; died September 26, 1968.
• Julie — born July 19, 1968; died September 5, 1968.
• Molly — born March 18, 1970; died June 5, 1970.
• Noah — born May 9, 1971; died July 28, 1971.

An adopted son, Jay, survived and was 17 years old when Hoyt was arrested in 1994.

Investigation

In 1985, a prosecutor in a neighboring county who had been dealing with a murder case initially thought to involve SIDS was told by one of his experts, Dr. Linda Norton, a forensic pathologist from Dallas, that there may be a serial killer in his area of New York.

Dr. Norton suspected a serial killer after reviewing Steinschneider’s report on the Hoyt case, in which the Hoyts were not identified by name. The prosecutor later became District Attorney in 1992 and tracked down the case. He sent it to forensic pathologist Michael Baden for review.

Baden concluded that the deaths were the result of murder.

The case was transferred in March 1994 to the District Attorney of the county where the Hoyts resided due to jurisdictional issues.

In March 1994, Hoyt was approached while at the Post Office by a New York State trooper with whom she was acquainted. He asked her for help in research he was doing on SIDS. She agreed and was questioned by the trooper and two other policemen. At the end of the interrogation, she confessed to the murders of all five children by suffocation and was arrested.

During the investigation and trial, Hoyt’s confession was treated as an important issue, and she later recanted.

Arrest and interrogation

After being questioned by the trooper and two other policemen, Hoyt confessed.

She later recanted her confession and challenged its validity during trial.

Verbatim statements attributed to Hoyt during interrogation

According to court records, she described suffocation of each child:

Erik (died Jan. 26, 1965, at 3 months, 10 days): "He was crying at the time and I wanted him to stop. I held a pillow--it might have been a sofa throw pillow--over his face while I was sitting on the couch. I don't remember if he struggled or not, but he did bleed from the mouth and nose."
Julie (died Sept. 5, 1968, 1 month, 17 days): "I held her nose and mouth into my shoulder until she stopped struggling."
James (died Sept. 26, 1968, 2 years, 4 months): "I was in the bathroom getting dressed and he wanted to come in. He came in . . . and I made him go out. He started crying, 'Mommy, mommy.' I wanted him to stop crying for me so I used a bath towel to smother him."
Molly (died June 5, 1970, 2 months, 18 days): "She was just home from the hospital overnight and was crying in her crib. I used a pillow that was in the crib to smother her. After she was dead, I called Mom Hoyt (Tim's mother) and Dr. Steinschneider."
Noah (died July 28, 1971, 2 months, 19 days): "I held a baby pillow over his face until he was dead. I then called for Mom Hoyt and Dr. Steinschneider. I remember it was a hot day in July."

"I feel that if I had got help from them, it would have prevented me from killing the rest of my children. I feel that I am a good person, but I know that I did wrong. "
"I loved my children. I love my (adopted) son, Jay, and my husband. I feel the burden I have carried by keeping the secret of killing my children has been a tremendous punishment. I most definitely feel remorse and regret for my actions. I cannot go back and undo the wrong that I have done."

In earlier narrative of the confession, she said:

"I suffocated Eric in the living room," she began. "He was crying all the time, and I wanted to stop him....Julie was the next one to die...I cradled her up to my shoulder...when she quit crying I released her, and she wasn't breathing."

In a described account of the confession, she provided the reason for the murders as wanting to silence the crying.

Trial

A jury of 6 men and 6 women found Hoyt guilty of murder of five of her children.

Verdict and conviction

On April 25, 1995, a jury found her guilty to Waneta Hoyt, 48, of murder 5 of her children, during a 6 years, between 1965 and 1971.

Sentencing

The sentence was described as being 15 years for each murder, served consecutively.

Appeals

Her death in prison occurred before her appeal had been heard, and she was formally exonerated under New York law because she died before her appeal had been heard.

Outcome

Hoyt died in prison on August 13, 1998, of pancreatic cancer.

Other details

Adopted son

Jay was adopted when he was 7 weeks old, remained healthy through childhood, and was 17 years old when Hoyt was arrested in 1994.

Reports of her physical and medical condition

The record included descriptions that she had high blood pressure and osteoporosis, and that her husband supported her at trial as she appeared broken-down and older than her years.

Court and prosecution participants named

Tioga County Judge Vincent Sgueglia sentenced her on September 11, 1995. Tioga County prosecutor Robert Simpson made closing arguments during the four-week trial. William Fitzpatrick was described as district attorney of neighboring Onondaga County after viewing her appearance and as having first begun investigating Waneta Hoyt.

Additional medical experts named

Dr. Alfred Steinschneider wrote the 1972 Journal Pediatrics article about SIDS and the proposed connection with sleep apnea. Dr. Linda Norton was described as a forensic pathologist who suspected a serial killer after reviewing the Steinschneider report. Michael Baden concluded the deaths were the result of murder. Dr. Charles Patrick Ewing testified for the defense. Dr. David Barry was a psychiatrist hired by the prosecution.

Verbatim statements attributed to others (during closing arguments)

"Five young people aren't here today because of her," Tioga County prosecutor Robert Simpson told the jury in closing arguments during the four-week trial. "They would have had families, jobs. But they don't get that opportunity because their mother couldn't stand their crying."

Verbatim statement attributed to Judge Sgueglia during sentencing

"I only have one thing to say to you," he advised, "and that is to consider your sixth child.... Whatever you tell this court, your husband, your God, you owe it to that boy to tell him the truth."

Verbatim statement attributed to Hoyt after conviction

"I didn't kill my babies. I never did nothing in my life, and now to have this happen?"

Verbatim statement attributed to Hoyt in court

"God forgive all of you who done this to me."

Nurses’ testimony and concerns (as described)

Four nurses testified that Hoyt showed little interest in the babies. Thelma Schneider said: "There was no bonding at all." She also said: "Most of us went to Dr. Steinschneider and expressed our fears—we had a gut feeling that something was going on. Either he was in total denial or not being very objective."

Ambulance worker Robert Vanek recalled being stunned by the SIDS conclusion and said: "I thought, three in a row? It bothered me."

SIDS-related trial framing

The trial was described as a test case on the medical validity of SIDS, and it was said that the syndrome was determined valid at an earlier stage and Hoyt was found innocent. In 1994, however, she confessed and later recanted, and the 1995 trial convicted her.

Speculation about motive/diagnosis included in the record

The record stated that it was speculated that Hoyt suffered from Münchausen syndrome by proxy, though this diagnosis was described as not universally accepted in the case.