Opinion ID: 1910615
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: William Code Homicides: August 5, 1987

Text: Nathaniel Code's 73-year-old grandfather, William T. Code, lived at 641 West 66th Street in Shreveport. On August 4, 1987, William Code worked in his yard with the two grandsons of a friend, Enamerteen Williams. The two boys, 8-year-old Eric Williams and 12-year-old Joe Robinson, were seen working with William Code in his yard as late as 8:00 p.m. Mrs. Williams gave telephone permission for the boys to spend the night with William Code, as they had done in the past. Mrs. Williams became concerned when the boys did not return home the next morning and went to William Code's residence that afternoon. The doors were locked, and steel burglar bars on the windows and doors kept her from gaining entrance. There was no sign of forced entry. Although no one answered her knocking, she heard music playing. It was later discovered the television was on. Through the window she could see the bound foot of Joe Robinson. Mrs. Williams went home, called the police and returned with her brother, niece and granddaughter to William Code's house. After using her key to open the burglar bars on one of the windows, Mrs. Williams and her brother discovered the bodies of William Code and the two boys. All three victims were found in separate rooms. Joe Robinson was found lying face down on the living room couch. He had been struck in the forehead with a blow severe enough to have dazed him. He had bruises on the shoulders beneath the skin and over both collarbones. His ankles were tied with a white plastic cord. Each end of the cord was tied around an ankle and there was a gap in between. A length of the same cord had been used to tie his hands together behind his back, with one end of the plastic cord tied to one wrist and the other end tied to the other wrist like handcuffs. A loose length of cord around his neck held a gag; a doubled length of the cord was used to strangle him. The boy was only wearing a pair of underwear which had been turned inside out. Eric Williams was found lying face down between two twin beds in a small bedroom where he had been dragged from one of the beds. Plastic rope held a gag around his neck. His hands had been tied identically to the way the other boy's hands were tied, in a handcuff ligature. One ankle was tied with this cord, but then it ran out. The killer then took electrical cord to finish binding the boy's ankles together. A second length of electrical cord was used to strangle the boy. There were no signs that a struggle took place. The boy was wearing a pair of underwear. William Code was found lying face down on his bed, dressed in a dressing gown. His ankles were bound with electrical cord, then the cord was brought up the front of his legs and tied to his wrists. His hands were tied behind his back with electrical cord in the handcuff ligature. A telephone cord around his neck held a gag in place. The autopsy showed William Code had been struck a very heavy blow to the side of his head which alone could have caused his death. Hemorrhages in his brain were consistent with being beaten about the head with a fist. He had been stabbed five times in the chest, seven times in the back, and once in a major artery of the right upper arm with a long knife. Several of these wounds would have been fatal, but William Code died of their cumulative effect. Pat Wojtkiewicz of the North Louisiana Crime Lab testified that medium velocity blood spatter was found on the wall in William Code's bedroom where he was killed. McCormick testified that one person was responsible for the murders. The two boys were tied in the same way, gagged in the same way and killed in the same way. Materials from the house were used to tie William Code. McCormick testified the victims were probably killed in the order in which they were found. Since there was no sign of forced entry, Robinson probably let the murderer in the front door. Robinson was subdued by a strong blow to the head, then gagged, tied and strangled. Williams, who was in the front bedroom, was probably surprised as he slept. There was no sign of a struggle. Williams was then tied and killed. McCormick testified that the focus of the murders was William Code. There was no element of overkill in the two boys and no knife was used on them. By contrast, William Code was beaten repeatedly over the head and rolled front and back to be stabbed many more times than would have been necessary to kill him. McCormick theorized that this showed an emotional relationship between the victim and the murderer. No money was found in the residence, although William Code had cashed checks totalling between $400 and $600 the day before he was murdered. A small caliber pistol was missing as well. Investigators found a knife and a set of keys in a storm drain approximately 600 feet from the residence. The knife was similar to a set found in William Code's kitchen; the keys fit the victim's door. Donald Ray Johnson, William Code's neighbor, testified he saw Nathaniel Code exit William Code's residence sometime after 8:00 p.m. the night of the murders. Johnson saw Code shut the inner door and the iron bars, check to make sure they were locked, then walk out to a vehicle. Code drove down the street toward Johnson and stopped to say hello through the car window. Code introduced the female passenger in the car as his new wife, then the two drove off. Johnson thought the situation unusual because William Code always walked guests to the door to make sure the security doors were locked and because he knew William Code would not allow Nathaniel Code into his house. Johnson had been present two weeks before when William Code had refused to loan any more money to his grandson because Nathaniel Code had not paid him back. John Huckabee, an electrician who installed security lighting at the Code residence, testified about a conversation he had with William Code in which William Code stated he was afraid of his grandson and told of Nathaniel Code's attempt to borrow money from him in the past. William Code had refused to lend his grandson the money. After the bodies were found, Nathaniel Code approached investigating officers and introduced himself as the victim's grandson. Code stated he had received a call from William Code on the evening prior to the murders at approximately 10:30 p.m. or 11:00 p.m. in which William Code asked him to come to his residence complaining there were people hanging around his house. Code stated he went to his grandfather's house at approximately 2:00 a.m. on the morning of August 5. Nathaniel Code stated that after his grandfather let him into the house, he checked the house and the surrounding area for suspicious persons, then left on his bicycle. He returned once to check the outside again, then rode his bicycle home. Nathaniel Code agreed to accompany police to the station to give a statement since he was, apparently, the last person to see his grandfather alive. Investigators became suspicious of Code because he stated he touched the vacuum, fan, humidifier and phone while at his grandfather's house; these were the items from which the electrical cord was cut to bind the victims. Code agreed to allow the police to seize the clothes and shoes he had worn the day before. His finger and palm prints were matched to the latent palm prints found at the Chaney homicide. Code was informed of his constitutional rights, questioned and arrested for the Chaney homicides. Later, Wojtkiewicz of the crime lab located a medium velocity blood spatter on the tennis shoes worn by Code. Although the crime lab determined the blood was human, there was an insufficient amount to do any further typing. Later, the police obtained consent from Code's wife to search their residence. Among other items, police seized several cut electrical cords and professional grade duct tape. Testimony was adduced that Nathaniel Code had approached several people seeking a loan just prior to the murders. The day before the bodies were found, Nathaniel Code had approached Shreveport narcotics officers and offered his services as a paid confidential informant. He indicated that he knew of persons who were dealing drugs and needed $100 to pay one of them. The day the bodies were found, Nathaniel Code called his cousin, Beatrice Holmes, and invited her to his house. The two shared a gram of cocaine which Code supplied and then went to a liquor store where Code purchased beer. On the way home, he purchased a second gram of cocaine. Holmes and Code were shooting this cocaine when they were interrupted by a phone call informing them of William Code's death. Holmes testified that a gram of cocaine sold for $150 at that time.