Hills Walks Free

By Aimee Yee
Daily Star Staff Writer

AMITE — Jerry Hills walked out of the parish jail a free man Tuesday afternoon after a 21st Judicial District grand jury refused to re-indict him for the rape and murder of 5-year-old Sadie Henderson.

Hills spent almost nine years in the parish jail after being arrested and indicted for the March 2, 1996, abduction, rape and killing of the kindergartner, who went missing from her grandmother’s front yard in Hammond.

A grand jury met Friday after the district attorney’s office sent the case back to the jury to review after learning in late 2004 that a human head hair that didn’t belong to 50-year-old Hills hadn’t been presented to the grand jury who indicted him in 1996.

The grand jury reported to courthouse officials Tuesday that there wasn’t enough evidence to indict Hills for the crime. By 4 p.m., Hills walked out of the jail escorted by his sister and his New Orleans attorney, Martin Regan Jr. “It was quite an emotional moment for him,” Regan said, adding that Hills wasn’t yet ready to speak to the media and was meeting with his family.

“He served eight years, four months and five days, and he’s reuniting with them,” Regan said. “I can tell you he’s pleased with the grand jury finding a no true bill. He was always adamant he didn’t commit this crime. And even when they (the district attorney’s office) offered a plea which would have allowed him to go home on probation, he turned it down. He said he wouldn’t say he was guilty of a crime he didn’t commit. He waited another four months to see if he’d be brought to trial.”

Since Hills’ indictment, the district attorney’s office has twice been to the Supreme Court to argue that his past crimes should be made known to the jury at trial. Although the court of appeals agreed with the prosecutor’s office, the higher court denied the requests.

Since that time, more evidentiary reasons have caused the district attorney’s office concern over the strength of the case, District Attorney Scott Perrilloux said last week.

“We knew about the DNA evidence, but we weren’t aware it wasn’t made available for the grand jury (in 1996) to review. Additionally, there’s been other factors regarding evidence in the case that have prompted us to go back to the grand jury,” Perrilloux said.

The only living witness that can put the defendant in the vehicle that Sadie Henderson was allegedly taken away in has four criminal convictions, Perrilloux said. They are three counts of theft, one count of attempted theft and simple battery. She is currently charged with distributing narcotics in a school zone, pending in the 21st Judicial District Court. She is a fugitive now, with outstanding warrants for her arrest.

A second witness, who admitted using crack cocaine at the time she said she saw Hills with the victim has potential issues with her motive and memory because she didn’t come forward until some five months after the crime occurs, he said.

The victim’s grandmother poses another evidentiary problem, as she has Alzheimer’s and often suffers lapses in memory. Perrilloux said it was her testimony that put Hills at the home at the time of the girl’s disappearance.

The only other person who can do that is Hills’ mother — and she refuses to cooperate with the district attorney’s office, Perrilloux said.

Another witness, who discovered the victim’s body in the pond, reportedly lives in Texas. He hasn’t responded to any of the letters and has no phone number. Perrilloux said his investigators are continuing to search for the man.

Yet another witness, who identified Hills at the pond with the victim, can’t correctly identify the car by color or description, he said. Additionally, she’s since been convicted of bank fraud.

Another witness who can identify only a young black girl at the pond with an older black man can’t identify the car. This witness has since been arrested for forcible rape but was never brought to trial because the victim refused to cooperate, Perrilloux said. The man is currently being prosecuted for possession of controlled dangerous substances — schedules I and II — a second forcible rape charge and unauthorized use of a movable.

This witness wants assistance on these pending charges to testify in this case, which the district attorney said would obviously jeopardize the credibility of any testimony he would give.

Another witness at the pond claims he saw the car and a black male but can’t identify either. He’s also currently in jail, Perrilloux said. Another witness who identifies Hills in the car in which the victim’s blood was found is now dead.

In 2004, former Hammond Police Department Detective Kevin Grob, who was the lead detective in the murder case, was arrested and is being prosecuted for sex crimes involving juveniles in St. Tammany Parish, he said.

Additionally, Perrilloux said the head hair found on the victim doesn’t match that of the man twice charged with forcible rape, who is a Caucasian. The head hair belongs to an African American.

Perrilloux said Thursday that it was likely Hills would walk out of the parish jail a free man after the grand jury reported, but the Henderson case will be reopened at the Hammond Police Department.

The district attorney has been in touch with Assistant Police Chief Kenny Corkern, and they are discussing the case.

“The case will be reopened and reworked,” he said. “I’m not prepared to say he (Hills) is innocent.”

“It’s terrible,” Perrilloux said. “This little girl went missing on a Saturday afternoon, and nobody reported her missing until the next day … some 24 hours later. She got dumped on in life, and now she’s getting dumped on in death.”

About Martin E. Regan, Jr.

Year after year, Martin E. Regan Jr., the firm’s senior partner, has dedicated tireless efforts on behalf of the accused and produce wins for clients that a less determined advocate would have thought hopeless.  Martin E. Regan Jr.’s ability to tackle and win tough criminal cases has resulted in verdicts of acquittal in many highly publicized trials.