Woman found guilty of second-degree murder for shooting man on the side of the road in 2020
A Marion County jury on Wednesday afternoon returned a guilty verdict for a woman accused of shooting and killing a man who was walking along the side of roadway in an apparent case of mistaken identity.
Here's what happened in court:
Judge: Retired Circuit Judge Willard Pope.
Lawyers: Assistant State Attorneys Sasha Kidney and Wynn Vickers and defense attorney Jack Maro.
Trial: Jury selection began Monday with eight people — two of them alternates — selected to hear the case, which began Tuesday. The trial ended Wednesday afternoon.
Charge: Second-degree murder with a firearm.
Defendant: Jennifer Sue Hill.
Victim: Michael Hofacker, 39
Background on the case: Before the shooting, Hill's home had been burglarized and multiple valuables, including firearms, were reported stolen to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
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Deputies arrested Beau Pulsifer of Silver Springs on suspicion of the break-in. Pulsifer told authorities that Michael J. Beach of Silver Springs participated in the burglary. Hill and her husband had a run-in with Beach after the burglary. Both were looking for the people they believed were responsible for the burglary.
Detectives said Hill was riding in a vehicle on County Road 314A when she saw a man and woman walking on the road. She told the driver to stop. The vehicle approached the man and woman, and Hill asked the man his name.
When he said "Mike," Hill shot him, authorities said, apparently mistaking him for Michael Beach.
Hill has been at the county jail since Nov. 29, 2020.
What happened to the accused burglars? The burglary charges against Beach and Pulsifer were dropped by prosecutors due to lack of cooperation. Beach has been convicted of separate burglary offenses. He's presently in prison and is expected to be released in August 2024.
At trial: Maro asked the judge to dismiss the second-degree murder charge and instead consider an offense of manslaughter because the state had not provided enough evidence for the jury. The judge denied Maro's request.
Testimony: Prosecutors introduced a deputy's body cam video that showed Hill telling the deputy that the victim pulled a gun on her and that was why she shot him. But the woman who had been walking with Hofacker could be heard saying Hill murdered the victim.
On the witness stand, the woman who was the driving the car that Hill was riding in told the court that when Hofacker told Hill his first name, Hill shot him.
Maro asked the driver if the area where the shooting took place was a dark and densely wooded, and was told yes. He suggested since her vehicle was parked halfway on the road and on the pavement, she may not have been paying attention to the conversation between Hill and the victim.
The doctor who performed the autopsy said that while the manner of death was a homicide, there was no evidence to suggest the shooting occurred at close range. She said the bullet entered Hofacker's head from right to left and exited through the back of the head.
Hill testified: Hill took the stand in her own defense. She said Hofacker had a gun and that she shot him because she was afraid.
Hill said that when she got out of the car, she saw Hofacker's gun and kicked the firearm toward the road. She said she heard someone say to "get it and go," making reference to the gun.
She assumed someone took the gun and left. She told jurors she was cooperative with law enforcement.
Deputies recovered one gun, belonging to Hill, from the scene. A second gun was never found, and prosecutors were adamant that Hofacker did not have a weapon.
On cross-examination, Hill said she may have "misspoke" in some of her previous testimony. Before the shooting, testimony given in court showed Hill's husband had received word that the man walking along the road was not Beach.
Kidney asked Jennifer Hill: If you knew the man walking along the road was not Beach, then why did you ask the driver to turn around? Hill said she just wanted to talk to the man.
Closing arguments: Maro said his client had no ill-will, spite, evil intent or hatred toward Hofacker and therefore she had no reason to kill the man.
Kidney said Hill was actively looking for Beach. When Hofacker told her his name was Mike, she shot him.
Jurors: The jury went to the back at 1:39 p.m., and at 2:45 p.m. requested to watch a deputy's body cam video showing Hill talking to the deputy about the shooting.
At 3:23 p.m., jurors said they had a verdict. The judge told the family and friends of both sides that he would not tolerate any outbursts.
The decision was read aloud by the clerk seconds later. Hill bowed her head and at one point turned around and looked at her husband and others. She wiped away tears.
A pre-sentence investigation was ordered by the judge and Hill is expected to be sentenced on Feb. 1 at 9 a.m. Family and friends shouted to Hill that they loved her as she was led out of the courtroom to be transported back to the jail.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Woman found guilty in Marion County of shooting man on road in 2020
