Willie James Hodges was born on June 19, 1960, in the United States. Details about his early life, upbringing, or family background remain largely undocumented in public records. What is known is that by the early 2000s, Hodges was living a transient lifestyle, drifting between states such as Florida, Alabama, and Ohio. He had prior criminal history, including burglary charges, which eventually played a key role in his murder conviction. His life appeared unstable, marked by periods of incarceration and lack of clear employment or personal direction.

On June 22, 2001, 58-year-old Patricia Belanger was brutally murdered inside her Pensacola, Florida home. She had been stabbed multiple times, and there were signs of a violent struggle. The case went cold until 2003, when Willie James Hodges was arrested for burglary in Alabama. A routine DNA test from that case matched evidence collected at the Belanger crime scene, specifically under the victim’s fingernails. This breakthrough led to his extradition to Florida, where he was officially charged with Patricia’s murder.

In 2007, Hodges was convicted and sentenced to death. However, his death sentence was overturned after the landmark 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Hurst v. Florida, which found Florida’s sentencing procedure unconstitutional. He was later resentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Authorities also considered Hodges a suspect in two additional unsolved murders in Alabama and Ohio, but due to insufficient evidence, he was never formally charged.

Willie James Hodges remained imprisoned in Florida until his death on March 21, 2024, from natural causes.