Willie Hart was found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2023 death of Candace Woodruff outside the Shore Motor Inn in Patchogue.

By Michael Mashburn From Daily Voice

A Long Island jury found a 61-year-old truck driver guilty of murdering his girlfriend inside the cab of his tractor-trailer parked outside a Patchogue motel.

Willie Hart, of Yaphank, was convicted Wednesday, Oct. 29, of second-degree murder in the 2023 death of 37-year-old Candace Woodruff of Texas.

Prosecutors argued Hart called police around 2:25 a.m. on May 29, 2023, claiming he found Woodruff unresponsive on the floor of his cab near the Shore Motor Inn, as Daily Voice reported. Officers arrived to find her on the ground, not breathing.

Medical examiners determined Woodruff died from asphyxia caused by neck compression. She had abrasions and contusions to her face, neck, and body.

Surveillance video showed Woodruff leaving her motel room around 1:25 a.m. and entering Hart’s cab. Minutes later, Hart followed her inside. Prosecutors said the video captured signs of a violent struggle lasting about 35 minutes.

Hart was later seen leaving the cab, touching his face in the same spot where police observed fresh scratches. He retrieved a bag from the motel, moved it into a car, and returned to the cab in a disheveled state before calling 911, investigators said.

Inside the truck, detectives found evidence of a struggle, including scattered Ramen noodles — some of which was recovered from Woodruff’s mouth — and jewelry belonging to both Hart and the victim.

“The defendant behaved cowardly and callously when he took his girlfriend’s life,” Suffolk County DA Raymond Tierney said following the verdict. “I am relieved that the jury has held him responsible for his actions.”

Tierney urged anyone in a violent relationship to call 911 or Suffolk County’s S.T.O.P. Violence Against Women Program.

Hart faces up to 25 years to life in prison when he’s sentenced in December.