Kriti Mehrotra
It was in August 1997 when 21-year-old electrician Richard “Ricky” Cowles Jr. was found lying in a pool of blood, dead in his own Gadsden Avenue apartment in Lancaster, California. As carefully chronicled in NBC’s ‘Killing Time,’ he had been beaten with a claw hammer before being shot with a .32-caliber semi-automatic pistol. Yet, his killer wasn’t identified until months later. William “Billy” Hoffman was eventually arrested and convicted for this heinous offense, only to later confess to his family while sharing that they actually still didn’t have the whole story or true justice.
Billy Hoffman Was 19 When He Went Down the Wrong Path
William “Billy” Hoffman was working as a clerk at a local store to make a living when some of his decisions turned his entire world upside down in a way he never could have imagined. According to reports, the then-19-year-old California native led a rather quiet life without any legal troubles before the summer of 1997 and was even considered a rather kind, friendly individual. He was allegedly already ready to help those in need without hesitation, unaware that this precise quality is how he would soon find himself agreeing to kill, even though he didn’t personally know his target.
On August 12, 1997, Billy stepped into Ricky’s apartment and hid until the electrician returned home around 9 p.m., after working late to fix lights at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds. That’s when he ambushed the thriving 21-year-old in his master bedroom, attacking him in cold blood using not only a claw hammer but also a pistol before leaving him to bleed out and die. It was an hour later that the victim’s 16-year-old pregnant girlfriend, Amy Lynn Preasmyer, found him and dialled 911, but it was already too late because he simply could not be revived.
As investigations into this brutal murder commenced, Amy was one of the first people detectives looked into, considering her young age as well as her intimate relationship with the victim. However, she was essentially cleared once her alibi was confirmed, and they also ruled out robbery gone wrong since there were no signs of forced entry or anything having gone missing. The case thus came to a standstill, that is, until an anonymous tip a few months later informed officials that a local store clerk had been boasting about being involved in Ricky’s killing.
Billy Hoffman Was Sentenced to Life in Prison For His Actions
When Billy was ultimately brought in for questioning, he actually broke down under the investigators’ tough tactics and confessed to murdering Ricky after lying in wait inside his home. He was consequently formally charged with murder, only to stand trial in 1999 despite vehemently trying to claim he hadn’t really acted alone and that Amy was indeed involved in the crime. But alas, as per records, prosecutors did not pay much heed to his accusations under the assumption that he was trying to downplay his role in the hopes of getting some leniency.
Yet, during Billy’s trial, prosecutors did concede they couldn’t establish a motive for the killing since the defendant really didn’t know the electrician who worked for his family’s business. They stated that their belief is that he possibly may have been persuaded by someone else to kill Ricky, but they couldn’t positively ascertain who or why due to a lack of concrete evidence. This was despite several witnesses coming forward to testify that the former store clerk had told them he had removed the 21-year-old from the picture as a favor to his 16-year-old girlfriend.
Nevertheless, with Amy vehemently denying having anything to do with Ricky’s death, Billy was eventually found guilty and sentenced to a life term plus an additional 10 years for weapon use. It was while this young convicted killer was behind bars that he reportedly resolved to come clean and make up for all his sins after finding faith as a full-fledged Catholic. This is when he penned a letter to the Cowles family in 2002, detailing that while he was the triggerman, he had actually done so at the behest of Amy before also receiving help from 2 others.
Billy Hoffman is Now a Free Man With a Devoted Family
Billy’s candid letter led the Cowles family to push for further investigations, which unraveled the fact that the inmate had indeed been approached by the then-teenager to kill her boyfriend. According to records, alongside her friend Jennifer Kellogg, Amy had approached the former store clerk and asked him to murder Ricky in exchange for money because she believed the latter had ruined her life. It has been alleged that she blamed the victim for getting her pregnant and basically taking away her entire teenage years and youth, resulting in her really resenting him.
Therefore, as per court documents, Amy soon started looking for someone to remove Ricky from the picture for good, and when Billy agreed, they carefully planned out all their steps. In fact, not only did a third conspirator named David Ashbury help him know the victim’s schedule, but it was also Amy and Jennifer who led him into the apartment on the fateful August 1997 day. With this, all three other individuals responsible for Ricky’s murder were ultimately arrested, tried, and convicted for their hand in the offense, following which Billy filed a petition for clemency or early parole.
Due to Billy’s help in bringing Ricky justice as well as his clear remorse over his actions, the then-Governor of California reduced his sentence from a life term to 20 years to life. Hence, after a total of 22 years behind bars, the killer was granted parole in 2020, meaning that while he became a free man, he remained under careful state supervision for a while. Since then, though, it seems like his parole has concluded, and he has managed to build a good, stable life for himself in Riverside, California, where he is surrounded by God, his kind wife, and his beautiful children. In other words, in his mid-40s, Billy is a proud Christian, Husband, and Father, who is now hoping to help youths across the nation not fall down the dark path by sharing his story. He is a true advocate for them as well as for second chances.
Read More: Amy Preasmyer: Where is Ricky Cowles Jr’s Girlfriend Now?
