THIRTY-TWO

“I’m Not Scared of You, Matthew”

Sarah wanted to read aloud to Matthew Hoffman a letter she had written. Some, however, thought it would be too stressful and painful for her to do, so instead, Prosecuting Attorney John Thatcher read it on her behalf. Sarah sat in a black dress next to her dad as the statement was read in the courtroom.

Her letter began, “This has changed my whole life, and my family’s life too.

“This is so sickening, Matthew, to know how you even had the guts to do this to this family. Stephanie was a great woman too. She watched Kody and me whenever my mom needed her to. All I’m thinking about is how sick and disgusting you are.

“I will never forget about Kody and my mom, Tina. I think Matthew is really stupid for killing the dog too. What could we have possibly done to you, Matthew, to be treated like this? There is no reason why. Matthew, when you kidnapped me, I kept asking if you killed my mom and my brother. And you said, ‘Don’t worry about it.’

“How could you possibly do this to a loving and caring family? Matthew, you must have been planning this for a really long time, because you have to have skills and time to do such a thing like this. I wonder if it even goes through your head, ‘Why did I do this? Now I’m going to prison for life.’

“My brother was only eleven years old and his name was Kody. My mom was thirty-two years old and her name was Tina Herrmann. My mom did a lot for Kody and me. I didn’t even get to say that I loved him one last time. I told my mom before I went to school that I loved her and for her to have a good day at work.

“I’m very, very thankful for the guys who worked so hard to find me. Matthew, I don’t know if you thought you were going to get away with this, but luckily didn’t. I think Matthew was purposefully trying to scare me and my family, but I’m not scared of you, Matthew. I’m going to stand up for myself and live my life.

“When this happened on November 10, 2010, all I was thinking about was if my family was okay and if I was going to be able to live. Especially when he was putting the ropes on me, and I said, ‘Oww, that hurts!’ He said, ‘I don’t care if your arms and legs turn purple.’

“When I went to my room, I was going to call the police, but Matthew got in there just in time. I was so scared when Kody and I walked into the house that day and there was a huge patch of blood by the front door. My reaction was ‘Oh My God!’

“Justice will never be served. I will never be able to get my mom and brother back until I see them in heaven. Kody will never ever see our family again. There is so much stress in my life right now, thinking that another idiot is going to kill me or something. Matthew, I want you to know that you will never be forgiven by me.

“Some memories of Kody: he was a left-handed pitcher and he was really good. A whole bunch of people always told him how good a player he was. In life, he wanted to be a helicopter pilot in the Coast Guard.

“Some memories of Mom: she always made sure we were happy, and she went out and did stuff with Kody and me, even though she didn’t have that much money. She always made sure we had heat in our house to stay warm, made sure we had food on our plates, nice clothes on, and that we had shoes on our feet. She was a really caring woman, and when someone needed help, she would take her time to go help them. I loved her as a mother even though there were times we didn’t get along. She loved dolphins and sunflowers. One thing she said to me, ‘Sarah, when I die, I want you to send me with the dolphins.’

“I will tell you a little about me. I played softball for three years. I was so good at it. I played in the outfield and I played on the All-star Team over the summer. I loved it. I’m almost fourteen. I enjoy my new school and the people there!!!”

Sarah’s last comment was meant as an “in-your-face” to Matthew Hoffman, a reiteration of her ealier theme that he had not destroyed her spirit and she was no longer afraid of him. And then she brought up the fact that where he was going, he was the one who now had to be afraid.

* * *

Judge Eyster read each and every count and had Matthew Hoffman declare how he pleaded on the count. To each count, Hoffman said “guilty” in a fairly strong voice until it came to the sexual assault count, when Hoffman’s voice could barely be heard. So the judge asked him once again how he pleaded. Hoffman this time said more loudly, “Guilty.”

Larry Maynard stated later, “It was apparent he didn’t want anyone to hear how he pled on that count. He didn’t want that on the record, where anyone in prison could see that he had sexually molested a thirteen-year-old girl. Prisoners hate pedophiles and Hoffman knew it.”

After all the pleas of guilty, Judge Eyster sentenced him to a life in prison without the possibility of parole. Hoffman was escorted out of the courtroom, and Larry Maynard recalled, “I was glad to get him out of my sight!”

After the sentencing, Larry Maynard had a few things to say to the media. He related, “It was good to get it all out in court. He [Matthew Hoffman] got what he deserved. Justice was served. We can’t let him know that the victims’ families will be scared. Violence will not be tolerated, and the local law enforcement did a great job.”

After Hoffman’s sentencing, Stephanie Sprang’s mother, Pat Cullins, and sister, Sherrie Baxter, both wrote letters to Prosecuting Attorney John Thatcher, praising the work of his office. And Stephen Thompson, Stephanie Sprang’s father, related, “I’m satisfied with what he got. He got what he deserved, and I’m satisfied with the results.” Still, he added, “We’ve tried to go through [a normal] Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it’s been very hard.”