Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 2, 1994 TAG: 9409020090
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI AND LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The search warrant affidavit, in which police usually spell out their evidence, was immediately sealed by Roanoke County Circuit Judge Kenneth Trabue, barring the release of any information about who or what police might be investigating.
But the search did not appear to produce any major breaks in the case.
"There are no new major developments to report in this investigation today and I have no additional information other than that provided [Wednesday]," Vinton Police Chief R.R. Foutz wrote in a news release eight hours after the search warrant was filed.
He added that he was "pleased with the progress of the investigation."
Thursday, at the Vinton Police Department, detectives continued to interview relatives of the Hodgeses, who were found slain early Monday after their East Virginia Avenue home was set afire.
Autopsy results revealed that Teresa Hodges, 37, was strangled. Her husband, William Blaine Hodges, 41, and their two daughters - Winter, 11, and Anah, 3 - died from gunshot wounds to the head.
Blaine Hodges was shot once in the left temple with a small-caliber weapon. His two daughters were each shot twice - once in the temple and once in the forehead - with a similar weapon.
Hodges' body was found in an upstairs bedroom; his daughters were found in another upstairs bedroom.
Downstairs, investigators found Teresa Hodges, burned over 90 percent of her body. She had not been shot. She was found face down and partially clothed.
Dr. David Oxley, deputy chief medical examiner for Western Virginia, said his office is still awaiting results from lab tests that may answer a number of questions - including whether Teresa Hodges had been sexually assaulted.
"We're still working on a lot of things ... and at some point we're going to wrap up what is a very strange case," Oxley said.
As the police investigation enters a fifth day, details of the Hodgeses' whereabouts over the weekend remain unclear.
Teresa and Blaine Hodges went to Charlottesville to attend an Amway meeting that began about 8 p.m. last Friday, according to friends. The couple were representatives for the national product-sales company. Winter and Anah Hodges stayed with a relative that night.
After the two-hour business meeting, the Hodgeses - along with a small group of other Amway associates - went to dinner at an Italian restaurant.
According to John Lamb, a Charlottesville Amway distributor who was present that night, the group stayed at the eatery until midnight. Friends say the couple returned home to Vinton about 3 a.m. Saturday.
About 1 p.m. Saturday, Lamb said, he spoke with Blaine Hodges on the telephone.
"I was just talking to him about the [Amway] business," Lamb said. "He was excited about the future."
Amway associates went to the Hodgeses' home Sunday night for a business meeting. The Hodgeses did not answer the door, their two vehicles were in the front yard and a note was taped to the porch door, saying there was an emergency and that they would return late Sunday or early Monday. The note apparently was written by Teresa Hodges, friends said.
The fire was reported at 5 a.m. Monday.
The murders continue to haunt residents in Vinton.
"Everybody's concerned and frightened and bewildered," said Lotus Ferris, who lives near the Hodgeses' home.
"It's a sick, frightened feeling," she said Thursday.
Calls were pouring into Obenchain's Flowers in Vinton this week - all to order floral arrangements for the Hodgeses' funeral today.
"There are a lot of loving thoughts," said Frances Obenchain, owner of the flower shop. "The whole community is just devastated."
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call 983-0617. A $10,000 reward is being offered.
Staff writer Jan Vertefeuille contributed to this story.
by CNB