Brenda Kay Hagy, a 45-year-old drifter from Bloomington, Indiana, was found deceased on January 23, 1995, along an access road to Interstate 81 in Washington County, Virginia. Her partially clad body had been strangled, and it was evident that a tractor-trailer had run over her left leg. Investigators at the scene were immediately struck by the brazen nature of the crime and the similarities to a string of unsolved murders across the Midwest, which led them to suspect the work of a serial
killer.
Authorities began to piece together Hagy's final days. They learned she had been staying at a homeless shelter in Gainesville, Florida, and had left for a bus station on the morning of January 22nd. Near her body, detectives discovered a pair of white pants containing a crucial clue: a piece of paper with a phone number for a cab stand in Gainesville. This, along with a plastic Winn-Dixie grocery bag found wedged near her face, would prove instrumental in solving the case. Family members also informed investigators that Hagy was often seen at a truck stop along Interstate 65 in the Indianapolis area and had prior arrests for trespassing at such locations.
The investigation quickly focused on a potential serial killer who targeted women at truck stops, strangling them and dumping their bodies along highways. The FBI was already assisting a task force investigating a series of similar slayings in several states, including Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. The plastic bag found with Hagy's body was sent to a state crime lab, where technicians were able to lift a fingerprint.
This fingerprint led investigators to Sean Patrick Goble, a truck driver. When confronted by police, Goble initially denied any involvement in Hagy's death. However, when presented with the evidence of his fingerprint on the bag, he confessed to the murder. Goble claimed he had given Hagy a ride and that she had made sexual advances toward him. He stated that in an attempt to push her away, he grabbed her by the neck and that she subsequently died. He also admitted to placing the plastic bag over her head to prevent soiling his truck's sleeping compartment. Following his arrest, a search of Goble's truck revealed the pocketbook of another murdered woman, Rebecca Hanes. Goble also confessed to her murder and the killing of Sherry Mansur in North Carolina.
