(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Willie Hart, 61, of Yaphank, was found guilty of Murder in the Second Degree for murdering his girlfriend Candace Woodruff, 37, of Texas.
“The defendant behaved cowardly and callously when he took his girlfriend’s life,” said District Attorney Tierney. “I am relieved that the jury has held him responsible for his actions. I urge anyone who is in a relationship involving violence to call 911 or Suffolk County’s S.T.O.P. Violence Against Women Program at (631) 853-8222.”
The evidence at trial established that on May 29, 2023, at approximately 2:25 a.m., Hart, a long-haul trucker, called police and claimed that he had discovered his girlfriend, Candace Woodruff, unresponsive on the floor of his tractor cab, which was parked near the Shore Motor Inn in Patchogue. When police arrived at the scene, they saw Woodruff on the ground in front of the tractor cab, not breathing. Police observed and photographed scratches on the defendant’s face, which at the time were actively bleeding.
Police and medical staff then observed injuries to Woodruff’s body including facial and neck abrasions, neck soft tissue hemorrhage, head and neck contusions, and minor contusions and abrasions to her extremities. Woodruff was ultimately transported to Long Island Community Hospital, where she was pronounced deceased.
The Suffolk County Medical Examiner determined that Woodruff’s cause of death was asphyxia by neck compression. The investigation revealed that when Woodruff first arrived at the motel, she did not have visible injuries.
Video surveillance showed Woodruff leave her motel room at 1:25 a.m. with several bags and enter the tractor cab parked in the vicinity of the motel. The video also showed Hart watching her head in the direction of the trailer cab. Approximately nine minutes later, he left the motel room and entered the trailer cab. He remained there with Woodruff for approximately 35 minutes, during which time a struggle between the two was captured on video surveillance.
After exiting the cab, Hart touched the side of his face in the same location that police later noted the presence of blood. He casually walked back to the motel room, where he retrieved a bag, placed the bag in a car, and then returned to the trailer cab in a disheveled state, and missing the necklace that video surveillance previously captured him wearing. Hart did all of this before calling 911.
Evidence processing of the trailer cab revealed clear evidence of a struggle. The cabin was covered front to back with Ramen rice, which were also recovered from Woodruff’s mouth. Jewelry consistent with that worn by Woodruff and Hart was recovered from the floor of the cab.
On October 29, 2025, Hart was convicted after a jury trial, heard before Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable Richard Ambro, for one count of Murder in the Second Degree, a Class A felony. Hart is due back in court on December 3, 2025, for sentencing and faces up to 25 years to life in prison. He is being represented by John Halverson, Esq and Tara LaTerza, Esq.
Suffolk County’s S.T.O.P. Violence Against Women Program offers information, referrals to resources for further help and emotional support to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Eric S. Aboulafia and Sheetal Shetty of the Homicide Bureau, with investigative assistance from Detectives Richard Jones and Michael Ronca of the Homicide Squad.
