In the summer of 1980, the life of William Gerald Hodges, a 49-year-old male school teacher, was tragically cut short in Valdosta, Georgia. On July 10, his body was discovered in his car at a truck stop, the victim of a fatal shooting. The investigation into his death would soon reveal a connection to a wider and more brutal series of events.
The man responsible for Mr. Hodges' death was identified as William Howard Putman, a semi-truck driver. Putman's spree of violence did not end with the murder of the school teacher. On the same day Mr. Hodges' body was found, Putman continued his deadly path to a rest area on Interstate 75 near Lenox, Georgia. There, he came across a family from Kentucky who were resting in their car while on their way home from a vacation. Putman shot and killed David Hardin, 22, and his wife, Katie Hardin, 28, in front of their four young children.
Law enforcement quickly identified Putman's dark-colored semi-truck with a yellow flatbed trailer as being present at the scene of the Hardin murders. He was apprehended later that same day at another rest stop in Dooly County. A search of his truck revealed a. 38-caliber revolver, which ballistics tests confirmed was the weapon used to murder not only the Hardins but also William Gerald Hodges. In addition to the murder weapon, authorities found personal belongings of Mr. Hodges in Putman's possession, including his insurance card, a watch, and two rings.
William Howard Putman was tried and convicted for the murder of William Gerald Hodges and received a life sentence. For the murders of David and Katie Hardin, he was sentenced to death. After exhausting his appeals, William Howard Putman was executed by lethal injection on November 13, 2002.
