The Murder of Amber Hess
For this case I watched an episode of Grave Mysteries. It’s season 2 episode 1, titled ‘Ultimate Betrayal.’
A 17 year old is killed by someone she trusted.
Background
Amber LeAnn Hess was born on September 5, 1989. She lived in Queen Creek, Arizona, a small town about 30 miles from Phoenix. Amber was described as someone that spoke her mind, she was sassy, but very kind. She also loved her dog, and would often take several pictures with her dog or closest friends.
Amber had plans to attend a community college in Mesa after she graduated from high school, but that was all taken away from her.
Amber Hess
The 911 Call
On June 24, 2007, Amber’s parents Mike and Candy Hess returned home from a trip into Mexico. They contacted the Pinal County Sheriff’s office, and told them Amber was missing.
Detective Landon Rankin and Sergeant Dave Hausman arrived at the Hess home. The front door was open, and a garden hose was coming out of the house. In the kitchen, there was a large amount of blood. By this point, the blood had hardened, and the police knew that the garden hose had been used to try to clean up the scene.
The police walked through the rest of the house. There was an obvious sign of a struggle. Amber’s bedroom door was torn off it’s hinges, and her blankets were missing from her bed. A gun was missing from the home, as well as Amber’s 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer.
The Investigation
The police spoke to Amber’s parents, and asked who would have wanted to hurt Amber. They said they didn’t know, and were asked about possible boyfriends or friends. Amber’s parents said her closest friend was Todd Hoke.
Todd was 16 years old, and Amber’s best friend. He was always at the Hess home, and often joined them for family dinners.
The police went to speak to Todd, because he was 16, he was joined by his grandmother. The police asked Todd if he saw Amber that weekend. Todd said they had plans to go to the movies with another friend Nick Castillo, but that Amber never showed up. He said he then spent the night at Nick’s house. Todd gave the police Nick’s phone number, so that they could verify his alibi. Nick and his mom both confirmed that Todd had been at their home.
During the investigation, the police received some information from Amber’s aunt. She said that Amber had dated someone for a brief time, and that she broke up with him. This boy referred to as Chris in the episode did have a criminal background. He was eventually ruled out as a suspect, he had been with some family over the weekend that Amber died.
Another possible lead came from Amber’s ex-boyfriend. He said that Amber had been in a relationship with someone new. However, the relationship didn’t last, and the relationship ended. This ex was also ruled out, and he had been in Mesa about 30 minutes away from Queen Creek.
Amber’s Last Movements
The police called in the US Marshals and FBI for help. By this point, news of Amber’s disappearance spread throughout Arizona.
The FBI were able to access Amber’s phone records. They discovered that she had withdrawn some money from an ATM on the night she died around 7pm. They were able to see that at that time it appeared that she was alone.
Three days after Amber disappeared, a deputy was out searching in the desert, when he came across a charred body. The body was wrapped in some bedding, and there were pictures with the name Amber written on the back.
There were tire tracks that appeared to be similar to the tires from Amber’s own car. There were also two sets of footprints from a All-Star Converse sneaker and Vans. After finding this, the police believed that the killers were teenagers.
Amber’s body was identified through dental records. The autopsy proved that Amber had been stabbed several times, and was set on fire after she was already dead.
A Possible Motive
The police now believed that Amber was most likely very close or familiar with whoever killed her. They went to speak to several students at the local high school, which was in session for the summer.
They heard some rumors that Amber had drama with a girl that had just started dating Todd. Apparently, this girl had threatened Amber with a knife, and was jealous that Amber and Todd were close.
There were also rumors that Amber and Todd’s relationship had turned intimate. All roads seemed to be leading them back to Todd Hoke.
Amber’s car was eventually found, and the location of the car was suspicious. It was just a few miles from both Nick and Todd’s homes. Inside the trunk, the police found blood, which was later identified as Amber’s. There was also bloody handprints on the gear shift and steering wheel. The car was tested for DNA and fingerprints.
Keep Your Friends Close…
The police went to speak to Nick again. They discovered that Nick was on juvenile probation at the time. He had a charge for disorderly conduct and had been expelled from school.
They again asked Nick what he was doing on the night that Amber was killed. Nick said he had been with Todd at the movies, and went back to his house when Amber didn’t show up. Nick then added one more detail to this story. He said Todd had left to go to his girlfriend’s house, and returned about 1am.
The police decided to tell Nick that Amber’s body was set on fire. They wanted to see his reaction, but he didn’t have one. The police noticed a gas can at the home, and asked if they could take it in for testing. Nick agreed.
After talking to Nick, the police noticed something in Amber’s phone records that they didn’t notice before. The police knew that Amber was killed on Friday night, but there were several calls around 1-2am the following morning.
The calls turned out to be from Todd to his sister. His sister went to the police station herself, and said Todd had called her from a blocked number. Todd’s sister also said that Todd was looking around the house for cleaning supplies, and said that he and Nick had some things to clean up.
Nick and Todd were brought into the station, this time for formal interviews.
A Murderous Plot
The police started by questioning Todd. He stuck to his story, but when he and his grandma were left alone, his grandma asked him to swear on her rosary beads that he wasn’t involved. Todd hesitated to do that.
When the police questioned Nick, they decided to use a different tactic. They told Nick that Todd was blaming everything on him. Nick then said that the whole thing was Todd’s idea, and that he had been planning to kill Amber for awhile.
Nick said they did go to the movies with Amber that night, and went to Amber’s after it was over. Todd planned to distract Amber, while Nick made the first move. Todd gave Nick the signal, and he attempted to strangle her. The cord broke, and Amber made a run for it.
She wasn’t able to make it past the kitchen. They stabbed her multiple times in the chest, back and neck. They then staged the scene to make it look like a robbery. They took a gun from the house, wrapped Amber in her bedding, not knowing that some of her pictures were on it. They drove her to the desert and burned her body.
Todd and Nick’s fingerprints were found in Amber’s car. When they were asked why they did it, they said they didn’t like her.
Amber’s parents were surprised by the arrests. Todd had spent time at their house and that he and Amber were always in contact. They referred to her as being like Amber’s brother.
Arrests and Conviction
In March 2010, Todd Hoke pleaded guilty to first degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Nick Castillo pleaded guilty to second degree murder and concealment of a body. He was sentenced to 24 years in prison.
In 2013, Todd Hoke killed himself in prison.
Todd Hoke and Nicolas Castillo
FINAL THOUGHTS
This reminds me of the Skylar Neese case. Skylar’s “friends” also said that the reason she was killed is because they didn’t like her. There’s probably a different reason why all these teens killed their friends, but they’d rather not admit to why they did it.
I feel so bad for Amber’s family. They truly brought Todd into their home, and he repaid them by taking the life of their daughter. He then never admitted to why he actually killed her.
Sources
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20151917/amber-leann-hess
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19468540
