A Suffolk County jury convicted a Yaphank man of murdering his girlfriend inside the cab of his long-haul tractor trailer parked outside a Patchogue motel, leading to a sentence of 22 years to life in state prison, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said 61-year-old Willie Hart was sentenced after jurors found him guilty in October of killing 37-year-old Candace Woodruff. Tierney said the punishment follows “a powerful victim impact statement” from Woodruff’s mother, describing the loss as “irreparable harm.”
According to trial evidence, Hart called 911 around 2:25 a.m. on May 29, 2023, claiming he found Woodruff unresponsive on the floor of his truck cab, which was parked near the Shore Motor Inn in Patchogue. When police arrived, Woodruff was lying on the ground outside the vehicle and was not breathing. Officers noted fresh, bleeding scratches on Hart’s face.
Medical personnel documented extensive injuries to Woodruff, including facial and neck abrasions, soft-tissue hemorrhaging, and contusions across her head, neck, and extremities. She was pronounced dead at Long Island Community Hospital shortly after.
The Suffolk County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death as asphyxia due to neck compression.
Prosecutors said surveillance footage captured Woodruff leaving her motel room at 1:25 a.m. with several bags before entering the truck’s cab. Nine minutes later, Hart walked in the same direction and climbed into the cab. Video showed a 35-minute struggle inside.
Footage also showed Hart touching his face—where police later saw the bleeding scratch—before calmly walking back to his room, retrieving a bag, placing it in a car, and returning to the cab in a visibly disheveled state. He had also lost a necklace seen on earlier video.
Investigators found the cab in disarray, with evidence of a violent confrontation. Ramen rice covered the interior and was also found in Woodruff’s mouth. Jewelry matching items worn by both Hart and Woodruff was recovered from the floor.
Hart was convicted of Murder in the Second Degree, a Class A felony, on October 29, 2025, following a trial before Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro. He was represented by attorneys John Halverson and Tara LaTerza.
Assistant District Attorneys Eric S. Aboulafia and Sheetal Shetty of the Homicide Bureau prosecuted the case, with investigative support from Homicide Squad Detectives Richard Jones and Michael Ronca.
