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Daniel Joe
HITTLE
Classification: Mass murderer
Characteristics:
Parricide
- Revenge
Number of victims: 7
Date of murders: 1973 / 1989
Date
of arrest:
November 15,
1989
Date of birth:
March 1,
1950
Victims profile: His adoptive parents / Gerald Walker,
48 (Garland police
officer) / Mary Goss, 39, Richard Cook Jr., 36, Raymond Gregg, 19 and Christy Condon,
4
Method of murder: Stabbing
with knife / Shooting (20-gauge shotgun)
Location: Minnesota/Texas, USA
Status: Executed
by lethal injection in Texas on December 6,
2000
Summary:
In November 1989, Hittle was involved in a feud with Mary Goss,
described in court testimony as his drug dealer.
One day, after an argument with his wife, he drove away from his home
carrying a 20-gauge shotgun in his pickup truck. When Garland police
officer Gerald Walker, 48, stopped Hittle for speeding, Hittle shot him
in the chest at close range.
He then proceded to Goss's home, kicked in the door, and opened fire,
killing Goss, 39, Richard Cook Jr., 36, and Raymond Gregg, 19. After
reloading, he shot Goss's 4-year-old daughter, Christy Condon, then he
drove back home. Christy died in a hospital two days later.
Hittle was on parole for killing his adoptive parents at the time of the
murders.
Texas Execution Info Center
Daniel Joe Hittle, 50, was executed by lethal
injection on 6 December in Huntsville, Texas for the murder of a police
officer.
In November 1989, Hittle was involved in a feud with
Mary Goss, described in court testimony as his drug dealer.
One day, after an argument with his wife, he drove
away from his home carrying a 20-gauge shotgun in his pickup truck. When
Garland police officer Gerald Walker, 48, stopped Hittle for speeding,
Hittle shot him in the chest at close range.
He then proceded to Goss's home, kicked in the door,
and opened fire, killing Goss, 39, Richard Cook Jr., 36, and Raymond
Gregg, 19. After reloading, he shot Goss's 4-year-old daughter, Christy
Condon, then he drove back home. Christy died in a hospital two days
later.
Unknown to Hittle, Officer Walker had radioed the
license plate number of his truck, and police were looking for him. They
spotted him near his home and gave chase. After Hittle ran his truck off
the road and wrecked it, he began shooting at his pursuers. He
surrendered when he ran out of ammunition.
After refusing orders to show
his hands, Hittle was twice engaged by a police dog. Hittle then
complied with police orders and was arrested. Convicted of Walker's
murder, Hittle was not tried for the other four murders.
In 1973, Hittle was convicted in Minnesota of killing
his adoptive parents. Court testimony showed that he stabbed them to
death because their dog scratched his truck. He served eleven years in
prison before winning parole in 1984.
Hittle declined to speak with reporters in the weeks
before his execution. His final statement consisted only of the words "Santajaib
Singh Ji," the name of an Indian religious teacher who advocated love
and nonviolence. He was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m.
Texas Attorney General
Wednesday, November 29, 2000
MEDIA ADVISORY -
Daniel Joe Hittle Scheduled To Be Executed
Hittle was convicted and sentenced to death for the
November 1989 murder of 48-year old Gerald Walker, a police officer with
the city of Garland.
Hittle had an ongoing feud with his drug dealer, Mary
Goss, and had told several people that he intended to kill her and not
leave any witnesses. On August 2, 1989, Hittle was arrested as he was
trying to break into Goss's home. While he was being taken to jail,
Hittle said several times that he would "get" Mary Goss and "take care"
of her.
On November 15, 1989, Hittle attended a party at Mary
Goss's home. Also attending were Mary's sister, Tammy; Mary's daughter,
Christy Condon; Rick Cook, Mary's boyfriend; and Scott Gregg. Tammy left
the party around 10:30 p.m. and Hittle soon followed. At about 11:00
p.m. Hittle's neighbor overheard Hittle and his wife arguing, and heard
Hittle say "I am going to kill the b----."
That same neighbor went
outside and saw Hittle, with a long barreled gun in his hand, leave in
his red Chevy pickup truck. At about 11:10 p.m., Officer Gerald Walker
saw Hittle's truck speeding down the road and pulled Hittle over. As
Walker approached Hittle's pickup, Hittle shot him once in the chest.
Hittle then drove to Mary Goss' house.
At about 11:25 p.m., Mary Goss' neighbor heard four
gunshots. Around 11:45 p.m., Tammy Goss returned to Mary's apartment and
found the bodies of Rick Cook, Scott Gregg and Mary Goss. Four-year-old
Christy Condon was found gurgling in her own blood. She was taken to the
hospital where she was pronounced brain dead two days later. All four
people had been killed by Hittle.
Hittle was finally arrested after a chase and
gunfight between Hittle and police officers. He was charged with
multiple counts of capital murder, but was only tried for the murder of
Officer Walker.
PRIOR CRIMINAL HISTORY
At the punishment phase of Hittle's trial, evidence
emerged that:
Hittle killed his adoptive parents in Minnesota
because their dog scratched his truck. Hittle showed little or no
remorse for their deaths. He was on parole for murdering his parents at
the time of his killing spree in 1989.
Hittle told a friend that killing people was not that
exciting, or just not that big of a deal to him.
The police officer who arrested Hittle for the
murders of his parents recalled that Hittle had threatened him when he
arrested Hittle several months earlier; Hittle said to him, "I will
remember you when we meet again." Hittle had threatened police officers
on at least two other occasions as well.
Hittle was abusive to his first wife; he pointed a
loaded shotgun at her when she refused to turn over his car keys, and
then struck her one-year old daughter in the face. Hittle once gave the
daughter a monkey doll, then one day took it away from her and tied it
over her playpen in a hangman's noose.
On another occasion, Hittle beat
his first wife after she became upset over Hittle informing her he was
unfaithful. Hittle brought her daughter in to watch the beating, and
told her to say goodbye to her mom; then Hittle began choking his wife
with so much force she saw spots.
Hittle was physically and emotionally abusive towards
his second wife as well. The day of a wedding shower for them, he hit
her when she didn't clean up the pieces of a mirror he broke. Hittle
also once shot out her tire, and he kicked her in the stomach when she
was pregnant and past her due date.
Hittle slapped his second wife's
baby daughter across the face when she wouldn't stop crying, and he
failed to support the two of them financially; instead, he spent his
disability pension on alcohol.
On another occasion, Hittle tied his parents' dog
against a tree, shot it, and left it hanging there; he then fired
another shot into the side of the house, tearing a hole in it, and
laughingly said he had "air-conditioned" the structure. During high
school, Hittle killed a neighbor's dog by beating it to death with a
club, because it would not stop barking one night.
During Hittle's prison sentence in Minnesota, he was
written up for a series of disciplinary violations; including:
possession of a knife, two instances of possession of contraband and
drug paraphernalia, disobeying a direct order and interfering with a
shakedown, possession of marijuana, interfering with a correctional
officer, disorderly conduct, possession of contraband drugs and
paraphernalia again, refusing to comply with an order while already in
segregation, inciting other inmates to riot, destruction of property
while already in segregation, disobeying a direct order and being
verbally abusive (again, while already in segregation), arson, use of
intoxicants, possession of drugs and/or paraphernalia again, and
fighting with another inmate.
APPEALS - To date, eight courts, both state and
federal, have reviewed Hittle's case and rejected his appeals. The
United States Supreme Court is currently reviewing Hittle's latest
appeals.
Fight the Death Penalty USA
A Minnesota parolee convicted of 3 murders, including
the killings of his adoptive parents, and accused of 4 other slayings in
Dallas during a shooting spree 11 years ago was executed this evening
for the death of a policeman.
Prosecutors used words like "scary" and "evil"
to describe condemned murderer Daniel Joe Hittle, 50, whose execution
was the second of 3 scheduled for this week and the 39th this year in
Texas, adding to the state's record total for the year.
"Sant ag ib Singh," Hittle said in a last statement.
"That's it." Prison officials said Hittle belonged to a religious sect
that followed the teachings of Singh, the name of an Indian religious
teacher who advocated love and nonviolence.
Hittle then nodded, smiled
and winked at his spiritual adviser, the only person he selected to
watch him die. As the drugs began taking effect, he sputtered and
exhaled slightly. 9 minutes later he was pronounced dead, at 6:20 p.m.
CST.
According to Michael Radelet, chairman of sociology
at the University of Florida and the keeper of a database on U.S.
executions, the Texas total this year is the most carried out by a state
in American history.
The Washington-based Death Penalty Information
Center said Hittle's death would lift the Texas total to equal the
highest in a state since 1862 when 39 Native Americans were hanged on a
single day in Minnesota. Those executions, however, were carried out by
the military and not the state, the records indicate.
Hittle, whose appeals were rejected by the U.S.
Supreme Court on Tuesday, made no clemency request to Gov. George W.
Bush, who had authority to grant a one-time 30-day reprieve. Only once
in his nearly 6 years in office has Bush used the power to stop an
execution and that inmate subsequently was put to death.
Hittle, who declined to speak with reporters in the
weeks before his execution, was condemned for gunning down Gerald Walker,
a Garland police officer who had pulled over Hittle for speeding the
night of Nov. 15, 1989. Walker, the 1st Garland officer to be killed in
the line of duty, was 1 of 5 people Hittle was accused of killing that
night. Among the 4 others was a 4-year-old girl. Among the witnesses was
Walker's widow, Beckie, and Jimmie George, a fellow Garland police
officer.
Beckie Walker released a statement thanking state and
local authorities for their support. George said Hittle's execution
would not bring back his friend. "However, the death of Daniel Hittle
will guarantee that no police officer will ever face the danger of
dealing with him again," he added. "Therefore, the state of Texas will
be a safer place in which to live and work." Hittle was tried only for
the death of Walker, 48, a 17-year veteran of the suburban Dallas police
force.
He already was on parole from Minnesota, freed in
1984 after serving 11 years of a 30-year term for killing his adoptive
parents. Authorities said the Staples, Minn., couple was fatally stabbed
when Hittle became enraged because he believed their dog scratched his
truck. "Obviously a very violent vicious human being," said Dallas
Assistant District Attorney Toby Shook, one of the prosecutors in the
police slaying case. "A poster boy for the death penalty," added Andy
Beach, another of the prosecutors. "He is the classic sociopath."
Court documents show he had a long-simmering feud
with Mary Goss, described as his drug dealer, and was thrown out of her
East Dallas home where there was a party that night. Some three months
earlier, Goss, 39, had him arrested for slashing her tires.
Testimony
showed Hittle returned home, had an argument with his wife and was seen
leaving his home carrying a long-barrel gun. 10 minutes later, Walker
stopped Hittle's red pickup truck for speeding and was shot in the chest
at close range.
Hittle went to the Goss house, where he kicked in the
door and opened fire. Killed were Goss; Richard Cook Jr., 36; Raymond
Gregg, 19; and Goss' daughter, Christy Condon, 4. Evidence showed the
child was killed with different type of ammunition, meaning he had to
reload his 20-gauge shotgun to kill the girl.
What Hittle didn't know was Walker had radioed the
license plate number of his truck. Police spotted him near his home and
after a short chase, he wrecked the truck and then began shooting at
them. He surrendered after he ran out of ammunition. His shotgun was
linked to all 5 murders.
Testimony at his trial showed he repeatedly beat his
wives and threatened and beat their children and abused and killed
animals. Records also showed while imprisoned in Minnesota he had
numerous violations, including drug possession, inciting a riot and
arson. And Hittle becomes the 151st condemned inmate to be put to death
during the tenure of Governor George W. Bush, who assumed office in
January 1995.
(sources: Houston Chronicle & Rick Halperin)
ProDeathPenalty.com
Convicted capital murderer Daniel Joe Hittle, accused
of slaying seven people since 1973, was sentenced to death for murdering
a suburban Garland police officer on November 15, 1989.
Hittle was described by witnesses as a man who
gleefully killed or tortured animals and who routinely beat women and
children.
He was on parole for the killings of his adoptive
parents in Minnesota when he shot Garland police officer Gerald Walker
during a traffic stop.
According to testimony, Hittle returned home after
being thrown out of a party at the house of Mary Goss, 39. At home, he
argued with his wife and left carrying a shotgun.
Ten minutes later, Officer Walker stopped Hittle's
pickup for speeding, and the 17-year officer was shot in the chest.
Hittle returned to the Goss house, kicked in the door
and opened fire. Killed were Ms. Goss; Richard Cook Jr., 36; Raymond
Gregg, 19; and Ms. Goss' daughter, Christy Condon, 4.
Evidence showed he had to reload his 20-gauge shotgun
to kill the little girl. Police later spotted his fleeing vehicle and
exchanged fire with him until he ran out of ammunition. His shotgun was
linked to all five murders.
Among the witnesses was Officer Walker's widow,
Beckie, and Jimmie George, a fellow Garland officer, who said, "The
death of Daniel Hittle will guarantee that no police officer will ever
face the danger of dealing with him again."
Police say Hittle then sped to East Dallas, where he
fatally shot Mary Alice Goss, 39; Richard Joseph Cook Jr., 36; Raymond
Scott Gregg, 19; and Goss' 4-year-old daughter Christy Condon. He was
convicted of capital murder in Walker's death.
Hittle, who seemed jovial and carefree throughout the
trial, said nothing, merely nodding when State District Judge Richard
Mays pronounced the death sentence. The Dallas County jury deliberated
about an hour. "He had to be stopped from hurting anyone else," said
Hittle's sister, Judy Anderson who lives in Minnesota.
At trial she testified against her brother,
describing the pain she felt when she learned that Hittle killed their
parents on their Minnesota farm in 1973. Anderson also said she felt
some remorse. "This is like a funeral," she said. "He's gone. And
despite everything he's done, he's part of the family."
A 17-year veteran of the police department, Walker
was the first officer in Garland, a Dallas suburb, killed in the line of
duty. Prosecutors said that Hittle, who had a loaded 20-gauge shotgun in
his car, wanted to kill the officer because he knew having the weapon
would be a violation of his parole.
Hittle was paroled in 1984 after serving 11 years in
a Minnesota prison for the murders of his adoptive parents.
Witnesses testified that for the last two decades,
Hittle led a cruel life. He often beat his wives and children, seemed to
take pleasure in killing animals and had murdered his parents after
their dog scratched his truck, according to testimony.
He also often
talked of killing police officers and later bragged about killing his
mother and father, witnesses said. "Obviously a very violent, vicious
human being," said Dallas Assistant District Attorney Toby Shook, one of
the prosecutors in the police killing case. "A poster boy for the death
penalty," added Andy Beach, another of the prosecutors. "He is the
classic sociopath."
After the jury delivered the death sentence, Walker's
widow, flanked by Garland police, said jurors "did what they had to do."
But Becky Walker also said she was concerned that parole laws aren't
adequately protecting Americans. "There are other Hittles running around
out there," she said.
