Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 21, 1994 TAG: 9404210231
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Hairston remained impassive as he pleaded guilty Wednesday to the first-degree murder of Judith D. Cook.
Cook's body was found Dec. 13 on the floor of her apartment. She had been stabbed nine times in the back and struck at least nine times in the head with a baseball bat.
An empty pizza box was found about 10 feet away. Hairston later told police that after killing Cook during a struggle, he showered, changed clothes and ate before leaving the apartment.
"I think that shows a complete lack of remorse," Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Wanda DeWease said. "This was a cold-blooded killing."
Hairston, a 26-year-old nursing assistant, will face a sentence of up to life in prison when he is sentenced later.
During a hearing in Roanoke Circuit Court, Detective R.W. Thompson of the Roanoke Police Department gave the following account:
At 3:30 a.m. Dec. 13, Hairston's sister called 911 and said he had shown up at her apartment. She didn't know whether to believe what Hairston told her - that he had killed Cook - but she asked police to check.
Police went to the apartment in the 2000 block of Windsor Avenue Southwest and found the body on the floor between the kitchen and living room. A blood-stained baseball bat had been propped upright between Cook's legs and then covered with a towel.
Several hours later, Hairston turned himself in to police. He said he had killed Cook, 40, the previous day in what he said was self-defense. During a "spat," Hairston said, Cook grabbed a steak knife and approached him.
After taking the knife from Cook, he stabbed her numerous times. Cook, who was on the floor by then, began to crawl to a corner where the bat was propped against a wall. At that point, Hairston told police, he grabbed the bat and repeatedly struck Cook in the head.
In his statement, Hairston told police he purchased several rocks of crack cocaine after the killing before deciding to turn himself in.
Hairston gave several reasons for the argument: Cook's reported jealousy over his ex-wife; her alleged involvement with another man; and her efforts to have him leave her apartment.
Cook and Hairston had been living together off and on for about 10 months after they met while working at the Avante of Roanoke Health Care Center. Family members have said Cook broke off the relationship three months before she was killed.
Still, she had arranged for Hairston to be admitted to the Roanoke Memorial Rehabilitation Center a week before the killing, after he had attempted suicide.
Hairston did not testify or offer evidence Wednesday. Assistant Public Defender Roger Dalton said he plans to present testimony at a sentencing hearing, scheduled for May 31.
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