Shivangi Sinha
In the early morning hours of June 30, 2007, police in Norfolk, Virginia, received a panicked call from Vonda Goyena. She reported that she had been attacked and that her daughter, Angelique Goyena, was as well. By the time emergency responders arrived at the scene, both women were in critical condition and succumbed to their injuries shortly afterward. What followed was a lengthy investigation that spanned nearly two years and eventually led detectives to David Hoshaw, the man Angelique had been preparing to marry. ABC’s ’20/20: House of Cards’ details the case, the deceptive tactics investigators say Hoshaw used, and the evidence that ultimately led to his arrest and conviction.
David Hoshaw Was Dismissed by the US Air Force Following an Accusation From His First Wife
David Wayne Hoshaw Jr. joined the US Air Force and settled down with his first wife, Naomi Hoshaw. The young couple had a few children, and Naomi believed they were living an idyllic life until she found proof of his alleged affair. What was even more disturbing was discovering correspondence with a 12-year-old girl whom she accused him of grooming. Naomi complained to his superiors at work, which ultimately led to his discharge from the Air Force, although he was not criminally prosecuted. The two eventually divorced, and when Naomi decided to move to Virginia, David also relocated so he could remain close to his children.
David got married for a second time, but that marriage only lasted a short while. In 2001, he met Alison Ashcroft. She said that she did not see anything in him that would have concerned her, but in 2005, he told her that he wanted a divorce. She agreed, and the two went their separate ways. David then started dating online, and in 2006, he began talking to Angelique Goyena. He told her that he was working as an electrical engineer and that he was looking for something serious. Within six months, by December 2006, they were engaged and planning to get married in September 2007. However, shortly afterward, Angelique started telling her family that she felt David was not into her, and frequent arguments began to surface between the couple.
On June 30, 2007, Angelique and her 74-year-old mother, Vonda Goyena, were attacked and killed in their home in Norfolk, Virginia. Police brought David in for questioning, and he told investigators that he had been attending a weeklong Boy Scouts campout with his 12-year-old son. Since the campsite was located about 80 miles from the crime scene, detectives believed he still could have driven to Norfolk and committed the crime, but no physical evidence tied him to the murders at the time. Investigators decided to dig deeper into his background and tracked down his former wives. What they learned about his past relationships did not paint a clean picture of his personality.
David Hoshaw Was Arrested Two Years After Committing a Double Homicide
From Angelique and Vonda Goyena’s house, police also recovered a computer and discovered that its password had been changed just hours before the crime. The new password was built around the name Amanda. Angelique’s diary entries stated that her fiancé was supposed to arrive on the evening before the double homicide took place. Detectives also found it unusual that David did not attend his fiancée’s funeral. Shortly afterward, he moved to Michigan and began dating another woman named Amanda and eventually became engaged to her as well. Investigators working the case believed he may have been having an affair while he was with Angelique, and their suspicions about his possible involvement in the murders only deepened.
The Norfolk Police Department had also received two anonymous letters immediately after the crime. They were believed to have been written by the killer, who took responsibility for the murders and included details that had never been released to the public. One letter had been mailed from Chicago and another from Michigan, in which the writer mocked the police for not catching the killer. Detectives used David’s credit card and cellphone records to trace his movements after June 30, 2007. They found that he had been in Chicago, very close to the post office from which one letter had been mailed, and was similarly linked to the Michigan mailing. Based on this evidence, David was arrested in June 2009 in Menominee, Michigan. At the time, he was living there with Amanda, who was pregnant with their second child.
David Hoshaw is Serving Two Life Sentences in Virginia Today
Detectives had hoped that David Hoshaw would confess to the crimes during his interrogation, but he instead asked for an attorney. However, when Amanda was allowed to speak with him privately, he broke down and confessed. David admitted that he had killed Angelique after an argument between them escalated. He claimed that he had been trying to break up with her when the situation got out of hand. During the conversation, he also acknowledged that he had sent the anonymous letters to the Norfolk Police Department.
David’s trial was set to begin in 2010, but on October 5, 2010, he pleaded guilty to capital murder and first-degree murder. During the proceedings, he apologized to the victims’ families and said that he was entering the guilty plea in part to protect his own family as well. He was sentenced to two life terms without the possibility of parole. David is currently incarcerated at River North Correctional Center in Independence, Virginia, where he will spend the remainder of his life. Under his sentence, he will never be eligible for parole.
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