Skip to content 
When questioned, David claimed he wasn’t fleeing, but merely on a long drive to clear his mind. He insisted the weapons were for hunting and professed no memory of any note in the car. But his denials rang hollow against the mountain of evidence. David Hoer was extradited back to Missouri to face charges for the double homicide. Notably, investigators never obtained direct forensic evidence.
No DNA, fingerprints, or eyewitness identification tying him to the shooting. Ballistics tests on the seized firearms were inconclusive. But sometimes the truth doesn’t need DNA to be seen clearly. The case against David was circumstantial but overwhelming. Documented threats, the protective order, his immediate flight with a cash of guns, his motive, and his history of violence.
David continued to insist he was innocent, questioning how a jury could convict when you have no witnesses, no fingerprints, no DNA linking him to the scene. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on January 20th, 2010. Prosecutors announced they would seek the death penalty. Due to pre-trial issues and motions, the case didn’t go to trial until late 2013 for long years during which the victim’s families waited for justice.
The trial began on October 21st, 2013 in Cole County Circuit Court. In a strategic move, the state proceeded to trial on only one murder count, Angela Gilpin’s murder, dropping the separate charge for Rodney’s killing. The jury would consider David’s culpability for Angela’s death as the capital charge. Though evidence about Rodney’s murder was presented to establish context, prosecutors argued that David was a scorned lover enraged by Angela’s decision to leave him and return to her husband. The defense maintained David’s
innocence and attacked the case as purely circumstantial, emphasizing the lack of direct physical evidence. David himself told the jury he could not show remorse for something he didn’t do. A statement that would follow him to his final day. After a three-day trial, the jury needed less than 2 hours of deliberation to find David Hoer guilty on all counts related to Angela’s murder.
He was convicted of firstdegree murder, armed criminal action, first-degree burglary, and unlawful possession of a firearm. 2 days later came the penalty phase. On October 26th, 2013, the jury unanimously recommended death. The trial judge formally sentenced David on November 27th, 2013, affirming the death sentence and imposing additional consecutive prison terms.
David’s convictions underwent extensive appellet review over the next decade. In March 2015, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld the conviction and death sentence. In December 2019, they again denied his appeals. Federal courts followed suit. In April 2022, a US District Court judge denied relief and the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that denial in January 2023.
Finally, in August 2023, the US Supreme Court refused to hear David’s case, clearing the way for Missouri to set an execution date. Throughout these legal battles, no court found reversible error. David’s conviction and sentence were consistently affirmed at every level. David spent over a decade on Missouri’s death row at the Poty Correctional Center.
By 2024, he was 69 years old and in declining health. In May 2024, weeks before his scheduled execution, he experienced a serious medical emergency. Diagnosed with heart failure and atrial fibrillation, he was hospitalized, unusual for a death row inmate so close to execution. His condition left him in severe pain with swelling and difficulty walking or talking.
Yet, prison officials did not delay the date, planning special accommodations like local anesthetic before the lethal injection to account for his frail state. During his years on death row, David continued to insist upon his innocence. He expressed frustration that his legal team’s final clemency appeal focused on his life history rather than proclaiming his wrongful conviction.
“You cannot show remorse for something you did not do,” he maintained. In late May 2024, David’s attorneys submitted a clemency request highlighting his traumatic upbringing, military service, firefighter career, age, deteriorating health, and the argument that executing a veteran with heart failure would serve little purpose.