The Willie C. Haughton Jr. Murders - Springfield, Missouri - The Hunt for a Killer

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It is April 3, 2018 and the public knows who the suspect of two murders on the north side of Springfield, Missouri is.

 The Springfield police have issued a warning to the public. 

 "We are looking for Willie C. Haughton Jr. and he is considered armed and very dangerous.  Willie Haughton is a suspect in the murders of Lance Loveless and Robert Hewitt.  Lock your doors.  Do not approach."

 Time to catch a murderer.  

 It is now known that the police attempted to capture Willie Haughton on March 28, 2018, several days before Robert Hewitt was murdered,  at an address on North Bolivar Road.   He wasn't there.

 Court records indicate that a warrant for Willie Haughton's arrest was issued on March 30th for failure to appear on his domestic assault and child endangerment charges. And, to revoke his bond.  A hearing was scheduled for April 2nd.

  On April 3rd the Bondsman issued a public statement stating they regret bonding out Willie Haughton.  Even though a $3,000 bond is certainly not a risky amount for a bondsman.  The paperwork was in order.  Judge Jerry Harmison lowered the bond so how risky could posting Haughton's bond be?  They didn't know Haughton would become a murderer.

  On April 3rd the public is notified that Willie Haughton was released on bond several days before Lance Loveless was murdered,  with conditions. 

  One condition was  he would wear a monitor around his ankle that would allow authorities to track his movements.  Willie Haughton went wherever he wanted to go. He didn't even stay at the address he agreed to be at while being monitored.

  When the battery that charged the monitor went dead Willie did not recharge it.  He was not being tracked at all.

The monitor company notified authorities within 24 hours of learning that Willie Haughton was not abiding by the conditions of his release.  The public was not made aware until the suspects name was released on April 3rd.

  The Springfield police and other agencies searched the city of Springfield.  They believed Willie Haughton was still in the area.  Some residents thought he may have headed back to St. Louis where he could easily blend in. 

  During the manhunt the public still didn't know what the motive for murder was.  Both victims were found in their vehicles.  Was he targeting people who were parked in a vulnerable area?  Did Willie Haughton  know his victims?

  Lance Loveless' brother was commenting on news articles on social media but offered no clues to the public.   Nobody was commenting on Robert Hewitt's behalf.

  It would be a few more days until the public was told what Willie Haughton's  motive for murder was.

  At least we know who were dealing with.  Stay tuned for the capture of Willie C. Haughton. 

  

The Willie C. Haughton Jr. Murders Springfield, Missouri - Robert C. Hewitt found dead on Easter Sunday

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Part 3:  The body of Robert C. Hewitt is discovered. 

 It was cold and dreary this Easter Sunday and April Fools Day.  Not typical weather for April 1st in the Ozarks. 

 Robert C. Hewitt from Wright City, Mo. a black male who was 49 years old at the time of his death.  Murdered Easter Sunday April 1, 2018 in the afternoon.  Found in an alley slumped in his car with gunshot wounds.  Behind a known drug house.   

Hewitt's body was discovered after a neighbor heard gunshots.  The neighbor told the press that gunshots are pretty normal in the area.  Didn't think too much of it until Hewitt's body was discovered.

The crime scene was about one mile from the Lance Loveless crime scene.  A scene now familiar  to police. 

The known drug house and the alley were taped off while the scene was processed.   The citizens were  confused, scared, the public wanted answers.

Some residents were beginning to believe they had a serial killer in the area.  The victims were different.  One a young white male and the other, an older black male.

Certainly did put a damper on the spirit of Easter Sunday.  And Hewitt's murder was definitely not an April Fools joke.

There is not a lot of information about who Robert C. Hewitt was. Hewitt had been in Springfield, Mo for several years. 

Hewitt's criminal history consisted of mostly child support issues.

The State of Missouri is tough on those who do not pay their court ordered child support.  Hewitt spent time in jail and prison for not paying and for not abiding by his probation conditions. 

Hewitt did have many traffic violations.  Missouri court records do not indicate that Hewitt was a violent offender.  

The Hewitt family did not speak with the media to shed any light on who Robert Hewitt was.  Only those who knew him can provide answers to what his life in Springfield, Mo. was like.

Hewitt's funeral arrangements were handled by Midwest Cremation and Funeral Services in Springfield, Mo.

The day after Hewitt was murdered the public was given the details of his murder.  Lance Loveless' brother posted on social media that he believed the Hewitt murder was connected to his brothers murder.  He stated, the body's were found in the same manner.

On April 2, 2018 the public still has no idea who murdered Lance Loveless and Robert Hewitt.  Or why. 

It was later discovered that the police had a suspect the day after Lance Loveless was murdered but that information was not shared with the public.  Police tried to find their suspect on Bolivar road but the suspect wasn't there.

Coming up next, the hunt for a killer. 

The Willie C. Haughton Jr. Murders - March 27, 2018 The body of Lance Loveless is discovered

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Part 2:  The body of Lance Edward Loveless is discovered.  

 Lance Edward Loveless was a 30 year old white male.  Father, Son, Brother, Husband and Friend.
 
Lance was found murdered in the early afternoon of March 27, 2018. .  Loveless was  found slumped in his car that was parked in an alley. Shot to death.  His wallet was missing.

 Word of Loveless’ death spread quickly in Springfield, Mo.  Loveless’ body was found in an area he didn’t frequent.  His family said that Lance didn't know anybody in the north side neighborhood he was found.

The public didn’t know what the motive for his murder was.  Didn’t know if the murder was random or if Loveless knew his killer. 
 
 Springfield has had it’s share of murders, however, in most cases the authorities are able to determine if a murder was random or targeted, very quickly.   Was not the case in the Loveless murder.   The public didn’t know what was going on. 

Then on March 28th the Loveless family did an interview with a local newspaper.  His brother said that Lance went to his female cousin’s home the night before his body was discovered.  He contacted his wife telling her he was on his way home at 11:30 pm.   He never made it home. 

 In the interview with the newspaper, Loveless’ brother mentioned how trusting Lance was.  He gave an example of an encounter he had at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting with a couple he had never met before .  The couple needed a ride home.  Lance's brother stated that Lance  went above and beyond to get them to their destination.  That's the kind of guy Lance was.

The fact that Loveless was attending NA meetings did give the public a possible clue as to what the motive for his murder might be.  Most of the murders in Springfield, Mo have been drug related so it’s easy to assume that this one was too. 

 The Loveless family gave no indication that Lance was using drugs or was associated with the drug scene.  There was no mention of a criminal past.  

A couple of gofundme campaigns were set up to help pay for Lance’s funeral and to help Lances wife  and children.   The author of the campaigns sang high praises for Lance.  The campaign  for the funeral did well. 

 In the state of Missouri criminal records are available online to the public.  If a person has been charged and convicted with a crime in Missouri, anyone can find the records.  

Many comments on social media indicated that some citizens were looking at Lance’s criminal history for clues to his murder. 

These records were found:  

 Loveless Criminal history:  Greene County Missouri,  Robbery 2008, 2012 sentenced to 7 yrs. Sentence suspended.  Shock incarceration 2 months in Greene County jail.  5 years CONDITIONAL RELEASE AND INTENSIVE SUPERVISION PROGRAM  (CRISP) completed July 2017.   In and out of jail for probation violations, failure to appear 2013- 2017.    A couple of traffic violations.

 The Conditional Release and Intensive Supervision Program  (CRISP) is a general program tailored to each individuals rehabilitation needs.   

Since it is implied that Lance had struggled with drug addiction, it is possible he may have attended a drug treatment program other than the NA meetings. 

  On March 28th the Greene county  judicial center  received a letter from First Track Offender Monitoring Service  stating that Willie C. Haughton Jr. had violated the conditions of his bond by going to 17 unapproved locations.    

Unless a person knew that Haughton was a suspect in the murder of Lance Loveless there would be no reason to look at the docket entries of Haughton's pending domestic assault case.

On March 30th the judge revoked Haughton’s bond, issued a warrant for his arrest  and notified the bondsmen.  A hearing was set for April 2nd.  

On March 30th ,the public still does not know who murdered Lance Loveless, or why.

Stay tuned for the next entry.  The Robert C. Hewitt murder. 

The Willie C. Haughton Jr. Murders. Springfield, Missouri. March 27 - April 6, 2018.

When big city crime comes to the bible belt.  A recap of the failed justice system that cost two lives.  The murders, the capture of Willie Haughton Jr, the publics reaction.   A real eye opener for Springfield, Mo. 


The 2010 census indicates that Springfield, Missouri is made up of about 165,000 residents.  St. Louis, Missouri is considered a large American city. 

Part 1:  Who is Willie C. Haughton Jr. ?

Willie Curtis Haughton Jr: A 24 year old black male,  from St. Louis, Missouri.  It is believed that Willie Jr. arrived in Springfield, Missouri sometime in 2017.

Not to be confused with a male with the same name from St. Louis, Mo who has a very violent criminal history.  Many people in Springfield, Mo are confusing presumably, Seniors record with Juniors record.  The confusion caused much outrage because they didn't believe that Willie C. Haughton Jr should have had the opportunity to be in Springfield, Mo.   They believed he should have been incarcerated based on court records.

Willie C. Haughton Jr's  adult criminal history begins in St. Louis in 2012 when he was charged  with attempted robbery.  He was sentenced to 2 years in prison which he was able to serve concurrently with his next conviction in 2012.   

In 2012 Willie Haughton Jr. was charged and later convicted of unlawful possession of a weapon.  He was sentenced to 4 years but his sentence was suspended.  He later violated the terms of his probation which caused him to serve a portion of his 4 year  sentence. 

Between October 2017 and December 2017 Greene County prosecutors in Springfield, Missouri charged Willie Haughton Jr with 8 counts of domestic assault and 1 count of child endangerment.  4 of the charges were felony charges. 

A warrant for his arrest was issued on January 3, 2018.  Judge Jerry A. Harmison Jr. signed the warrant.  The warrant was served by the Greene County Sheriff's Department on January 24, 2018.  Haughton was held on a $10,000 bond. 

On March 13, 2018 Haughtons Public defender Dawn Nichole Calvin was able to convince Judge Harmison to reduce Haughton's bond to $3,000.   With conditions. 

On March 26, 2018 Willie Haughton posted the $3000 bond with bond agent Bruce Temen.  Willie C. Haughton Jr was free to go  with conditions.   He must obey all laws,  stay away from his victims and wear a monitoring device provided by First Track Offender Monitoring at a specific address in Springfield, Mo.

This is where it all begins.  The reduced bond, the failed monitoring system.

The next entry will be posted soon.  The murder of Lance Loveless.  Stay tuned it gets real bad.