Shraman Mitra
The residents of Michigan City, Indiana, witnessed a terrifying murder in July 2011 when NeKeisha Hodges-Hawkins was murdered in front of numerous witnesses in broad daylight. Although the case seemed open and shut initially, none of the witnesses were ready to talk to law enforcement officials, and the case went cold for seven years before justice was delivered.
Hulu’s ‘Web of Death: Facebook Live’ chronicles the heinous murder and portrays how NeKeisha’s father’s determination to get justice for his only daughter helped bring the perpetrator to serve their rightful punishment. Let’s delve into the details surrounding the gruesome crime and find out where NeKeisha Hodges-Hawkins’ killer is at present, shall we?
How Did NeKeisha Hodges-Hawkins Die?
A resident of Michigan City, Indiana, NeKeisha Hodges-Hawkins was the light of her parents’ life. The 17-year-old was described as a lively and down-to-earth teenager who loved hanging out with her friends and had giant aspirations for the future as she wanted to become a pediatrician. Those who knew her talked about her helpful and amicable nature, which allowed her to make friends, and even mentioned how NeKeisha was beloved by her community. Moreover, she was just four days away from her 18th birthday at the time of the murder and could not wait to experience what the world had in store for her.
Sadly, a crime fueled by rage dashed NeKeisha’s dreams to the ground and made her father fight a nearly 7-year-long battle before justice was delivered. On July 24, 2011, she decided to attend a party at Krueger Memorial Park in Michigan City, Indiana. The teenager had only left her house for about 15 minutes when 911 operators received frantic calls around 11 pm from Memorial Park about a possible shooting. First responders immediately rushed to the location and found a huge crowd of people circling a body on the ground.
Upon edging closer to the commotion, they realized that the body of a young teenager was lying in a pool of her own blood. An initial medical examination indicated bullet wounds. Once the body was identified as NeKeisha Hodges-Hawkins, an autopsy declared her dead and determined that several bullet wounds led to her demise. Moreover, with almost 150 witnesses present at the party, the police were confident about getting an early breakthrough in the case.
Charles Gerron III Was Convicted for Killing NeKeisha Hodges-Hawkins
Unfortunately, the investigation into NeKeisha Hodges-Hawkins’ murder took years to reach a conclusion as leads were scarce to come by. Although the police interviewed the people present at the party and implored them to come forward with any information they might have, most decided to maintain their silence. In fact, reports mentioned that the parents of the partygoers had advised their children not to talk to the police about the murder, and with next to no information from the witnesses, the investigation came to a standstill.
Besides, on the same day, the police interviewed a 16-year-old partygoer by the name of Charles Gerron III, who surprisingly had changed into a different set of clothes for his interview. Moreover, he was accompanied by his mother for the interview, and both denied the young man’s involvement in NeKeisha’s death. While the lack of leads or witness information made the case go cold, NeKeisha’s father, Kalvon Hawkins, refused to give up on his fight for justice.
Kalvon had heard of the rumors about a possible suspect and kept scouring through social media until he found evidence that indicated Charles Gerron III might have something to do with the heinous crime. The father immediately took the information to the police, but the show mentioned that law enforcement officials couldn’t do much to help, following which Kalvon began to live stream his findings on Facebook. Through that, he managed to gather enough support and even started a crowdfunding campaign to come up with reward money for anyone who would come forward with crucial information.
The support Kalvon garnered eventually drove the police to take some action. After careful investigation, they arrested Charles for his role in the crime. However, Kalvon still had a battle to fight as he soon realized that the state was allegedly planning on offering Charles a plea deal that might lead to him spending just a few days behind bars. Such a deal appeared unacceptable to Kalvon, and once he asked the community for their support, numerous people bombarded the Prosecuting Attorney’s office, stating their disapproval of the proposed plea deal.
Eventually, Charles was produced in court for NeKeisha’s murder, and he pled not guilty to the charges against him. At the time of the trial, Charles appeared to have a bullet wound in his leg. Although he claimed he got it in a drive-by incident, the prosecution proved that it was self-inflicted, indicating that the suspect had access to firearms. Hence, after careful consideration of the facts, the jury convicted Charles of murder, which netted him a 50-year prison sentence in 2017.
Following the sentencing, Charles Gerron III tried to get his conviction overturned but was unsuccessful in doing so. Hence, to this day, he remains behind bars at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, Indiana, with a possible release date of 2040.
Read More: Charles Gerron III Now: Where is the Killer Today?
