A Yaphank man who worked as a long-haul truck driver was sentenced to 22 years to life in prison after being convicted of murdering his girlfriend outside a Patchogue motel.
On May 29, 2023, at approximately 2:25 a.m., Willie Hart, a long-haul trucker, called police and claimed that he had discovered his girlfriend, Candace Woodruff, unresponsive on the floor of his tractor cab, which was parked near the Shore Motor Inn in Patchogue. When police arrived at the scene, they saw Woodruff on the ground in front of the tractor cab, not breathing. Police observed and photographed scratches on Hart’s face, which at the time were actively bleeding.
Police and medical staff then observed injuries to Woodruff’s body, including facial and neck abrasions, soft tissue hemorrhaging on the neck, head and neck contusions, and minor contusions and abrasions to her extremities. Woodruff was ultimately transported to Long Island Community Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The Suffolk County Medical Examiner determined that Woodruff’s cause of death was asphyxia by neck compression. The investigation revealed that, when Woodruff first arrived at the motel, she did not have visible injuries.
Video surveillance showed Woodruff leave her motel room at 1:25 a.m. with several bags and enter the tractor cab parked in the vicinity of the motel. The video also showed Hart watching her head in the direction of the trailer cab. Approximately nine minutes later, he left the motel room and entered the trailer cab. He remained there with Woodruff for approximately 35 minutes, during which time a struggle between the two was captured on video surveillance.
After exiting the cab, Hart touched the side of his face in the same location that police later noted the presence of blood. He casually walked back to the motel room, where he retrieved a bag, placed the bag in a car, and then returned to the trailer cab in a disheveled state, missing the necklace that video surveillance previously captured him wearing. Hart did all of this before calling 911.
Evidence processing of the trailer cab revealed clear evidence of a struggle. The cabin was covered front to back with Ramen rice, which was also recovered from Woodruff’s mouth. Jewelry consistent with that worn by Woodruff and Hart was recovered from the floor of the cab.
On October 29, 2025, Hart, 61, was convicted after a jury trial heard before Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro of one count of Murder in the Second Degree, a Class A felony. He was sentenced to 22 years to life in prison on December 3, 2025.
“The powerful victim impact statement made in court today by Candace Woodruff’s mother is a painful testament to the irreparable harm the defendant has caused,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “We hope that today’s sentence brings Candace’s family some semblance of peace.”