Killer of 95-year-old man at a Port St. Lucie nursing home convicted of murder Friday
FORT PIERCE — After a jury on Friday found that William E. Hawkins in 2020 killed a 95-year-old man at a Port St. Lucie assisted living facility, a judge ordered him to serve life in prison without parole, according to court records and a prosecutor.
A jury seated Monday deliberated less than two hours before convicting Hawkins, 52, of first-degree murder with a weapon in connection with the Jan. 5, 2020 homicide of Robert W. Morell at Tiffany Hall Nursing & Rehab Center in Port St. Lucie, Assistant State Attorney Brian Workman said.
Port St. Lucie police responded to the scene around 12:20 a.m., after reports that a patient was 'being hurt' by someone at the facility in the 1800 block of Southeast Hillmoor Drive.
'Police learned a nurse walked past the male patient's room when she noticed an unknown male suspect sitting on top of the patient's chest, holding a pillow over his face,' an arrest affidavit stated.
Hawkins though, who has listed addresses in Fort Pierce and Vero Beach, initially got away.
Workman said Hawkins, who did not testify at his trial, had confessed to Morell's murder during a recorded conversation with his sister at the St. Lucie County Jail.
'He compared this murder to someone who trains for years and years to climb Mount Everest and then finally achieves a goal of climbing the mountain,' Workman said. 'And he finally completed his goal, and he was happy and felt good about it.'
Police began suspecting Hawkins shortly after Morell's death after noting Hawkins, who was one of the visitors on Morell's visitor list, possibly matched the description of the assailant supplied by Tiffany Hall staff.
Hawkins was identified by investigators as having been romantically involved with Morell's girlfriend, who at one point called Tiffany Hall and told the agency she didn't want Hawkins visiting.
Tiffany Hall officials told police Morell had been at Tiffany Hall since September 2019 after a procedure to get a feeding tube installed. His girlfriend was paying for him to stay there after his Medicare coverage ended, and intended to bring him home.
Police reviewed visiting logs at Tiffany Hall and found Hawkins visited Morell at least five times since Morell arrived.
Hawkins was arrested the day after the homicide in connection with other crimes, including allegations he stole the girlfriend's Cadillac ATS.
The Cadillac was found the day of the homicide at 1400 E. Midway Road partially submerged, according to an affidavit and a sheriff's official.
Those charges, including burglary of an occupied dwelling, trespassing and grand theft of a vehicle, are still pending, records show.
The girlfriend told police she had known Morell for 14 or 15 years and was living at his condo in the 4100 block of North State Road A1A north of the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum. She also said she'd been dating Hawkins for about five months, and that she and Morell had an 'open relationship.'
On Jan. 6, 2020, St. Lucie County sheriff's deputies found Hawkins in a shed at a home in the 4800 block of Silver Oak Drive — about a half mile from where the Cadillac was recovered. Hawkins said he was cold and needed somewhere to sleep.
According to an affidavit, Hawkins' aunt owned the home there.
Port St. Lucie police analyzed a cell phone that belonged to Hawkins that was recovered from the Cadillac. They were able to track the phone's movements between the condo on Hutchinson Island and Tiffany Hall.
A day after his arrest, records show Hawkins' sister contacted police and said Hawkins had been calling their mother from jail, but they weren't taking the calls. The sister told police if her brother committed the murder, she could get him to tell her what happened.
Police gave Hawkins' sister a recording device, and she visited him in jail.
'Did you put the pillow over his face?' the sister asked.
'Yeah, I did,' Hawkins is quoted as saying in case documents.
He said he planned the homicide for years, using Morell's girlfriend to be close to Morell.
'He's the reason why my life's messed up. Okay?' Hawkins said. 'He's the reason I keep getting (expletive). So, I took care of it myself.'
Hawkins' sister, Workman said, did not testify at his trial.
'What stood out to me was that Mr. Morrell … survived for 95 years, and he survived all the dangers of life. And in the end, it was a murderer who stalked him to a bed in a room in a nursing home,' Workman said. 'The evidence showed that even then, Mr. Morell fought for his life, and he fought back against the man that came to his room in the middle of the night to murder him.'
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Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers and is writer and co-host of "Uncertain Terms," a true-crime podcast. Reach her at melissa.holsman@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: William Hawkins guilty of 2020 murder at PSL assisted living facility
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