Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 16, 1994 TAG: 9410170083
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In a letter addressed to Bramblett and delivered Saturday to the Roanoke Times & World-News, Ralph Hodges - Blaine Hodges' brother - asked Bramblett to come forward and help investigators in their efforts to find the family's killer.
"In the past, you have spent many hours in my home and talked about your own family," Ralph Hodges wrote. "We spoke of the joys and tears of raising our kids and the dreams all parents have for them. My brother and his wife, Teresa, had those same dreams, but in a moment of horror that dream was lost forever.
"If my brother were in your position now, could you look down from heaven above and understand his reluctance to come forward and cooperate in any way? As a parent, and a friend, how could you?"
Blaine and Teresa Hodges and their daughters - Winter, 11, and Anah, 3 - were found murdered in their home the morning of Aug. 29. Their house had been set on fire. Teresa Hodges, 37, was strangled, her body burned. Blaine Hodges, 41, and the girls were shot in the head.
Bramblett had been close with Blaine Hodges' family for more than 15 years. He often was seen at their Vinton home, repairing his pickup truck or making rose trellises with Blaine Hodges. Days before the murders, he was seen painting their house.
While Vinton Police Chief Rick Foutz has denied that Bramblett is a suspect, he has described Bramblett's actions during the initial hours of the investigation as odd. He has asked Bramblett to come forward and clear his name.
The police have spoken with Bramblett only once - the afternoon after the murders were discovered. In that meeting, he was uncooperative and offered "little or no assistance," Foutz said.
Soon after that conversation, police searched Bramblett's truck and his motel room. A week later they searched a storage locker he rented in Vinton. Both search warrants have been sealed from public review. It is unknown what the police were looking for or whether they seized any items.
In a letter Bramblett sent to this newspaper last week, he said he would remain silent if arrested by police, claiming they had lied to obtain the search warrants. Bramblett said an attorney had advised him that he not talk with investigators.
Ralph Hodges questioned that vow of silence. He said his family also was subjected to tough questioning by the police.
"As a family member in mourning, I know what it feels like to have them ask for a polygraph test. I knew that they had their procedures to follow, but I did not take offense to something that would clear the way for them. Should I expect anything less of you?" Hodges asked Bramblett.
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