Naman Shrestha
ABC’s ’20/20: There is a Monster in Me’ delves deep into the brutal 1987 murder case of Susan Jeanette Atkins and the decades-long investigation that ensued. For several years, the suspicions were raised against her former husband, Michael Woods, who maintained his innocence. Two decades later, new forensic technology led them to the actual perpetrator — Joseph Scott Hatley. Besides being convicted and sentenced for murder, he also allegedly raped Shannon Myers just a year after the killing. The documentary provides a detailed account of how the detectives apprehended the killer after years of investigation.
Joseph Scott Hatley Killed Susan Atkins and Allegedly Raped Shannon Myers
Born to Celia A. Hallmark and Levi Joseph Hatley Jr. on December 20, 1965, in Hico, Texas, Joseph Scott Hatley alleged that he was physically abused by his mother while growing up, alongside his sister, Regina, and brother, Jimmy. However, his mother denied his allegations. In school, he and his sister were reportedly bullied by their peers. After graduating from Stephenville High School, he enlisted in the Air Force. Around the same time, he fell head over heels in love with an Ohio native. She also enlisted, after which they moved to a military base in Guam, where he landed a job as an insurance salesman. They exchanged marital vows, but their marriage didn’t last long. Following their separation, Joseph turned to alcohol and even forged checks to get more money from his place of employment. Later, around 1987, he moved back to Stephenville, where he started hanging out with his sister, Regina, and her high school friends.
That’s when he crossed paths with Susan Jeanette Atkins, who was in the middle of her divorce from Michael Woods. During one of the hangouts, he was in a drunken state and believed that Susan was flirting with him. When he showed up at her house on the fateful night of July 26, 1987, she denied his alleged sexual advances, after which he claimed to have used a pillow to suffocate her. In his writings, which were found several decades later, he admitted, “By the time I came out of the fog I had brutalized her. At first, she said she was going to tell what I had done to her. She then said she would not tell anyone if I just let her go. I found it interesting that she thought any of that mattered. I asked her if she believed in God. She said she did. I told her then you need to pray.”
The following year, Joseph reconnected with Shannon Myers-Barrientos, who lived next door to his sister’s place. The two had a short-term relationship earlier, which ended after he allegedly raped her at knifepoint. In 1988, he reached out to her and convinced her to meet with him. Joseph drove her to a roadside park, a couple of miles south of Stephenville, where she denied his desire to have sex. He then allegedly raped her and beat her severely. Despite Shannon having bruises on her body and a rape kit against him, the alleged rapist was not convicted of the violent crime. That same year, he was also involved in an armed robbery in Las Vegas, Nevada, for which he was arrested.
Joseph Was Linked to Susan’s Murder Two Decades Later
In 1993, Joseph relocated to Nashville and became a truck driver. This profession allowed him to drive across the country and explore various states. During one of his stops at a trucker bar, he crossed paths with Susan Hatley. He tied the knot with her and welcomed two children, Amanda and Nicholas, into the world. His truck-driving job came to an end when he got involved in a truck-related accident in Dallas. He moved on to a night shift job at Sysco Foods, where he moved up the ranks and became a night manager. In the following years, his family suffered multiple health scares, with his daughter meeting with a severe car accident and his wife getting diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. On top of that, their apartment complex was also damaged by a tornado, forcing them to move into a duplex.
In the late 1990s, Joseph and his family returned to Texas and landed a job at the Round Rock warehouse, where he worked long hours. His drinking habits worsened, and he allegedly physically abused his wife in their Texas apartment. By 2006, the authorities had tied him to Susan Jeanette Atkins’ murder through DNA evidence and new forensic technology — the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System. On June 6 of the same year, the detectives brought him in for questioning. He claimed that he did get drunk and flirted with her in her house before her murder, but denied doing anything sexual or murderous. Meanwhile, his wife, Susan Hatley, alleged that he physically abused her on a regular basis. Joseph cooperated with the authorities and gave his DNA sample to them. The following day, he was arrested for the domestic violence allegations against him. Moreover, his DNA matched the samples collected at Susan’s crime scene.
Joseph Scott Hatley Died of Cancer in His Trailer
In 2007, Joseph Scott Hatley pleaded guilty to Susan Jeanette Atkins’ murder, following which he was sentenced to 30 years in prison. After serving about 11 years of his sentence, he was granted parole in 2018. By then, he had become a devout Christian and a grandfather to Kaylee, Amanda’s daughter. After sobering up, Joseph then relocated to Abilene to stay close to his daughter and granddaughter. Claiming that he had changed after serving time behind bars, he stated, “The older I get, the more remorse I have, the more understanding I have that what I did was something unchangeable.”
Three years after his release from prison, in November 2021, he was diagnosed with stage 4 spinal cancer. At the age of 55, Joseph died while battling cancer and was found on the floor of his trailer on December 9, 2021. While he refused to provide the authorities with his motive to kill Susan, the answer to this was found in his trailer, where they found a manuscript that detailed his life and included chilling confessions of his crimes.
Read More: Shannon Myers Barrientos: Where is the Survivor Now?
