Opinion ID: 1907203
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 40

Heading: William Godette

Text: William Godette worked as a handyman for the victim, a seventy-nine-year-old man. On November 14, 1990, when Godette went to the victim's home and demanded payment for work he had done, the victim refused to pay him. That night, at approximately 6:30 p.m., Godette returned to the victim's home, knocked on his door and demanded payment. When the victim again refused to pay, Godette forced his way into the home, knocking the victim to the ground. The victim then called Godette a name. According to Godette, the name-calling caused him to panic. Godette first tried to strangle the victim and then struck him six times in the head with a hammer. Godette took some money, jewelry and a VCR from the home and fled. The victim's body was discovered the next day by fire department personnel who had been notified by coworkers concerned because the victim did not show up for work. On August 8, 1991, Godette was arrested in North Carolina and charged with robbery and the murder of his step-father. On February 14, 1992, he volunteered a confession detailing his involvement in that murder. Godette was later convicted of both robbery and murder in connection with his step-father's death, and was sentenced to a term of life imprisonment plus forty years. At the time of the murder of the elderly New Jersey man, Godette was thirty-seven-years old. He had dropped out of high school and had held a variety of unskilled jobs. He was separated from his wife and was the father of three children. He admitted using all drugs and claimed to have spent two weeks in a hospital detoxification program. His only other prior conviction was for the possession of controlled dangerous substances. Godette was charged with capital murder, felony murder, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. On February 11, 1993, he pled guilty to robbery and felony murder. The robbery conviction merged for sentencing purposes and he was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of thirty years, to be served concurrent with the term he was serving in North Carolina. Although the AOC codes only the c(4)(a) (prior murder) aggravating factor as being present, the State served notice of the following additional aggravating factors: c(4)(c) (depravity), c(4)(f) (escape detection), and c(4)(g) (felony murder). The AOC also codes mitigating factors c(5)(a) (emotional disturbance), c(5)(b) (victim participation), and c(5)(h) (any other relevant factor).