(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Willie Hart, 61, of Yaphank, was sentenced to 22 years to life in prison after being convicted of murdering his girlfriend Candace Woodruff, 37, by a jury in October.
“The powerful victim impact statement made in court today by Candace Woodruff’s mother is a painful testament to the irreparable harm the defendant has caused,” said District Attorney Tierney. “We hope that today’s sentence brings Candace’s family some semblance of peace.”
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, 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 Richard Ambro, of one count of Murder in the Second Degree, a Class A felony.
On December 3, 2025, Hart was sentenced to 22 years to life in prison. He was represented by John Halverson, Esq and Tara LaTerza, Esq.
This case was 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.
