CINCINNATI — After 35 years, the family of a young woman brutally murdered asks the community to help keep her killer in prison.
In 1990, Linda Hoberg offered Jeffrey Hengehold a ride home from the bar.
During the ride, she said something that bothered Hengehold.
He then sexually assaulted Linda, doused her in brake fluid, and set her on fire, burning her alive in her car.
“There were scratch marks all over the car,” Linda’s sister Pam Evers recalls. “Can you imagine how she felt while being burned alive? “That was terrible.”
According to Linda’s brother, Ron Evers, Hengehold admitted to the murder as part of a plea deal to avoid the death penalty.
He was sentenced to 15 years to life.
Every five years, Hengehold is up for parole.
Linda’s family must file a petition every five years to keep him in prison.
“I’m getting tired of this, having to get petitions; explaining this story to everybody,” Ron Evers concurs. “I can’t do it anymore.”
Now that the five-year mark has arrived, they must gather signatures and letters once more to share her story.
“Just change this process of doing all the petitions every five years is crazy,” Ron argues. “It should happen every ten years, especially if you burn someone to death. “Come on.
Five of Linda Hoberg’s siblings told her story side by side, continuing to speak for her decades after her brutal murder.
“She didn’t know this vicious animal was going to kill her,” Pam tells me.
Linda, according to her close-knit family, was a free spirit who enjoyed meeting new people.
In the 35 years since her murder, they have gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures from the community in the hopes that her killer will never walk free.
They say they will be her voice for the rest of their lives.
“What he did—no one understands what we went through,” Bob responds. “I’m sorry.”
If you want to write to the parole board, do so before the hearing on March 1.
If you want to help, you can write to the parole board in Columbus or fill out a petition with his name and inmate number.
You can also sign a petition started by the family.
