Shooting death was a case of mistaken identity. Now the shooter is going to prison for life
Jennifer Hill's residence was burglarized and her possessions stolen. Hill said she and her husband were threatened with a gun by the alleged burglar after they saw their belongings in a vehicle parked on the side of the road.
Returning from her daughter's baby shower, Hill, a passenger in a car, told the driver to stop. She asked a man walking on the side of the road his name. When he told her his name, she shot him in the head, killing him.
Hill thought it was the man who burglarized her residence. But it wasn't.
That was late 2020. In December 2023, a jury found Hill guilty of second-degree murder with a firearm. On Monday, Hill's lawyer argued his client's medication affected her with "devastating effects" and asked a judge to consider the situation.
But Assistant State Attorney Sasha Kidney said Hill "took the life of an innocent man" and should be given the most severe sentence.
Sentencing
Retired Circuit Judge Willard Pope told Hill's lawyer, Jack Maro, there was no evidence at trial indicating Hill's medications altered her mental capacity.
Hill was given an opportunity to speak on Monday, but declined. The victim's family, though present in court, also decided not to speak.
The judge said Maro's expert witness, who testified about Hill's medication and her condition, did not sway him. He sentenced Hill, 45, to life in prison.
The judge told Hill she could appeal, and appointed the Public Defender's Office to handle that process.
Hill's family members told her they loved her. Fingerprinted by a bailiff, Hill was led to the back. From there, she was transported to the county jail, where she already has been behind bars for 1,214 days. It's unknown when she will leave the jail for a prison facility.
About the shooting
In late November 2020, a burglar or burglars entered Hill's Silver Springs home and removed a safe containing valuables, including firearms.
Several days after the burglary, Hill and her husband saw their stuff in a truck on the side of the road. They called 911.
Before deputies arrived, authorities were told a man later identified as Michael Beach approached the couple with a gun and pointed it at them. Beach wanted to know why they were there. Beach escaped. Beach, along with another man, was suspected of breaking into the couple's home.
Then, days later, Hill was riding in a car along County Road 314A when she saw two people on the side of the road. Hill asked one pedestrian, a man, for his name. When he said Mikey, Hill shot the man.
Hill has told different stories about the shooting. First, she said the victim, 39-year-old Michael Hofacker, pulled a gun on her and she shot him in self-defense.
The other story was she thought she man she shot knew Beach and could tell her where to find him.
Neither Beach nor the other man was ever charged with the burglary because of lack of cooperation from the victims. Beach was charged separately for burglaries and other crimes. He's presently in prison and scheduled to be released in August.
Expert testimony
At the sentencing hearing, Dr. Susan Skolly-Danziger told the court Hill was prescribed methadone and gabapentin, which taken at the same time proved to be "a bad combination." The doctor said the side effects suffered by Hill included confusion and blurred vision.
Hill's daughter testified her mother was falling asleep and appeared confused while at the baby shower.
Maro told the court that while he doesn't condone Hill's behavior, she was stressed because her home was burglarized, she was confronted by the burglar armed with a gun, and she was on medication. He classified her behavior as erratic.
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Kidney argued that Hill had the presence of mind to remove her firearm from her daughter's vehicle to another vehicle before the shooting. The prosecutor said Hill took the law into her own hands, has shown no remorse, is a danger to the community, and therefore deserves a life prison term.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Life in prison for woman convicted of second-degree murder
