Where is Joy Major Hoop today? – Orangevillepolice

In the early hours of a February morning in 1997, a Brown County, Ohio, sheriff’s deputy was on patrol when he noticed a pickup truck parked suspiciously outside a bar. Just a few minutes later, the deputy received a call that a shooting had occurred at the exact same location. When he arrived at the scene, he discovered bar owner Donald Hoop had been fatally shot. In the episode titled ‘My Evil Stepmother’, the Investigation Discovery program ‘Evil Lives Here’ details the events leading up to the crime and the investigative efforts that ultimately led to the identification of the perpetrator.

Donald Hoop Was Shot to Death Outside the Bar He Owned

Donald Ray “Whitey” Hoop was born on May 22, 1960, in West Union, Ohio, to Arthur Robert Hoop and Lucy Owens Hoop. He was one of seven children who grew up with three brothers and three sisters in a lively and active home. Despite the activities surrounding him, Donald stood out for his deep empathy and desire to help others. He remained close to his parents and family as he grew up, eventually settling in Orab Mountain, Ohio.

Image Credit: Debbie J/Find a Grave

By 1997, Donald had built a life he was proud of and fulfilled. He had a daughter, Desiree Hoop, from a previous relationship and was happily married to Joy Major Hoop. Together they co-owned Slammers Bar in Mount Orab, Ohio, a venture that brought him great joy. Donald also had a passion for playing billiards and became a member of the American Billiard Players Association. With his family at his side, his daughter’s regular visits, and his loving wife, whom he considered his lifelong partner, Donald believed his life was complete and settled in every way.

Everything came to a halt around 1:30 a.m. on February 10, 1997, when police received a call reporting a shooting in the Slammers Bar parking lot. When they arrived at the scene, they found Joy embracing Donald, crying as he lay lifeless. He had been shot twice in the head, and the arriving medical team confirmed he had no pulse. Since he had no known enemies, it was puzzling why Donald was killed so brutally. But police immediately followed a lead in hopes of uncovering the identity of the killer.

Police Tracked Donald Hoop’s Killer to a Trailer Park

Just before police received the call about the shooting, Deputy Buddy Moore of the Brown County Sheriff’s Office was on patrol near Slammers Bar. He noticed a pickup truck parked in the parking lot and found the situation suspicious because someone was sitting inside with only the parking lights on. Sensing something was wrong, the sheriff’s deputy watched the truck from afar and followed it as it headed toward a nearby trailer park. But just as he was monitoring the situation, he received the call about the attack on Donald and had to rush to the scene.

When Deputy Moore saw Donald shot in the same parking lot where he saw the pickup truck, he sent another officer to follow the vehicle. The car was located outside a trailer, and when police knocked on the door, the owner of the trailer, Kathy Kerr, answered the door. He confirmed the truck driver was inside and using the bathroom. When officers took them to the bathroom, they found a man named Carl G. Lindsey washing himself with blood-soaked clothes lying in the tub.

Police also found a pocket knife and a box of ammunition on the sink cabinet. When they checked the trash can, they found Donald’s empty wallet and found a blood-stained gun behind the bathroom door. Tests later confirmed that the blood on the gun belonged to Donald. While Carl G. Lindsey was taken into custody, investigators suspected there was more to the story as the evidence did not exactly match the theory that the robbery had gone wrong. They began talking to Donald’s friends and family, and soon suspicions began to point elsewhere.

Many Heard Donald Troop’s Killer was Planning His Murder

Many people close to Donald, including his daughter Desiree Hoop, claimed Joy was a controlling wife. Desiree even expressed her belief that her father was in an unhappy marriage with a woman who was ill-tempered and cruel to him. When police questioned Joy, she admitted that she had discussed killing her husband while at the bar with Lindsey, Kathy Kerr and another man named Kenneth Swinford, but claimed it was just a joke. Joy insisted that she never intended for anyone to take her words seriously and that they acted on their own. But others had a different version of events to share.

Lindsey claimed that Joy hired her to commit the murder, and Kerr further supported this by stating that he witnessed Joy hand Lindsey the gun just before the crime. As the evidence against her mounted, Joy was charged with conspiracy and complicity in the aggravated murder of her husband.

Joy Major Hoop Serves Sentence Today

Joy Major Hoop’s trial began in 1998, and many patrons of the bar testified against her, stating that they had heard her talk about killing her husband. With Kathy Kerr’s testimony and mounting evidence, Joy was found guilty of conspiracy and complicity in the aggravated murder of her husband. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. Joy immediately petitioned for a new trial, but his sentence was upheld.

Joy filed a second motion for a new trial, specifically claiming that she had found new evidence that the gun used to kill Donald was not hers. However, the court ruled that other evidence clearly proved that she planned to kill her husband and that possession of the gun would not change her conviction. His second appeal was also rejected in 2013. Joy, now 61, is serving his sentence at Dayton Correctional Institution in Ohio, with his parole date set for 2028.