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26-year-old Heather Hoffman fatally shot Alex Eckert to death in 2022. On Tuesday, September 12, 2023, she was finally convicted of the murder of her child's father. She could further be sentenced to life in prison without parole.
It has been revealed that Hoffman and Eckert reportedly had a child custody dispute, which aggravated Hoffman and led to the fatal shooting that killed 22-year-old Alex. Heather Hoffman will stay in jail until she gets sentenced by the end of the year.
In closing arguments, prosecutors claimed that the angle at which Eckert received the gunshot wound showed that Hoffman was the killer.
Heather Hoffman fatally shot her child's father after the two had some disputes over child custody
On April 22, 2022, Heather Hoffman, a Minot Air Force Base woman killed her child's father over a child custody dispute. The incident happened at Alex Eckert's apartment in northwest Minot.
Prosecutors claimed that the angle of the gunshot wound and Snapchat messages make it more likely that Hoffman killed the 22-year-old man. State Prosecutor Roza Larson further claimed that a chain of events escalated and led to the tragedy.
However, Hoffman’s defense attorney, Steven Mottinger, highlighted the chain of events that took place prior to the fatal shooting and made different conclusions.
"[Heather Hoffman] sure as heck couldn’t have been at the Wyatt Street Apartments at 10:30, 10:10 to 10:30, to when the pickup left. It doesn’t make any sense."
The defense lawyer also questioned the credibility of an acquaintance of Hoffman, Jesse Schroeder. Schroeder claimed that Hoffman asked him to drive her to the victim's residence. However, he was not aware of her intentions. Despite the attempts to gain the jury's support, the jury sided with the prosecutors. They believed that Hoffman had the motive, means, and opportunity to carry on with the murder.
The Ward County State's Attorney described the case to be more complex because a child is involved
Roza Larson, Ward County State’s Attorney, said that she believed that Heather Hoffman did commit a murder. The events led to an escalation that caused the incident, she believed it to be self-defense, and Hoffman indeed wielded the gun.
"This was [Heather Hoffman’s] plan. You saw the escalation. She was getting more desperate, more desperate. She was saying it at work, ‘Be better off if he’s gone, better off if he’s dead. I can say that it was self-defense.'"
Larson further said this was a difficult case to deal with as there were families involved, including Hoffman's child, who is still just a baby. The convicted woman has been in jail since she was taken into custody in April and will continue to do so until her sentencing takes place.
News outlets tried reaching out to the families of Hoffman and Alex Eckert. However, they have yet to receive any response from either party.
Heather faces the possibility of receiving a sentence for life imprisonment on AA felony charge. Her sentencing hearing has been scheduled for December 1, 2023.
