Eva Hodge couldn’t fall asleep the night before her birthday. Something was gnawing at her. She got out of bed, walked to the back room of the house and watched television until morning.
She emerged from her sleepless night to the sound of her husband crying in the living room. The sheriff was sitting there too.
“He came to the door and asked me my name and asked if I had a son. I thought he was in jail, DWI or something. You never expect that he’s dead,” said Eva’s husband, Derek Hodge.
It was April 26, 2008. Derek Carl Eaddy Hodge II, 21, was dead. Not just dead – murdered. Shot in the head.
“My birthday will never be the same,” Eva said. But it’s more than that. For Eva and Derek Hodge, their son’s murder has meant insomnia, desperation for answers and gritting their teeth in the struggle to go about their daily lives, go through the motions, for the sake of their 20-year-old daughter, Karla.
“It appears that he (Derek) walked in on a burglary in progress,” said Detective Antuan Hinson of the Greensboro Police Department. He added that investigators believe it may have been a drug-related burglary. Det. Hinson was quick to point out, however, that nothing was actually taken from the home and wouldn't elaborate on what evidence suggested the crime was drug-related.
Derek lived in a nice house on Kay Street in Greensboro. It was a new development and the neighborhood had a reputation for being safe. Many of the houses were vacant, though, while the development was being completed. Whoever shot Derek, his parents believe, must have known the neighborhood well, had maybe even been to Derek’s house.
Derek had one roommate, who wasn’t home the night Derek was killed. The roommate has been quick to talk to the media, claiming to be Derek’s cousin, claiming that Derek moved to Greensboro to be closer to him. Misinformation has confused and angered the Hodge family.
The reason Derek moved to Greensboro was to attend North Carolina A&T University, where he studied marketing. He was popular, a handsome kid with a bright smile. He was generous, his parents said, and they can’t imagine that he had any enemies.
“There was nothing he had you couldn’t have. He would have given it to you. He was raised that way. Material things didn’t mean anything to him,” Derek said about his son.
But he had his material indulgences. He was a meticulous dresser. He always wanted to wear a necktie to school in the 3rd grade, his shoes had to match his shirt, and he loved watches. His mother bought him a new watch the Christmas before he died. It was his favorite. When the Hodges got a box from Greensboro police with Derek’s personal belongings in it, that watch was the only one inside.
He always told his parents he was going to be a millionaire by 40, a lofty dream for a young man, but as the tattoo on his arm spelled out, Derek believed he was “Destined for Greatness.”
He was a good kid, and grounded. His parents raised him to “work hard and live a clean life,” like they had. At the end of every phone conversation, his father always reminded him of his old adage: “Just do what’s right.”
The investigation is still very active, said Det. Hinson, so he didn’t want to comment too much on the details of the murder. He did say, however, that they have no suspects at this time.
Eva and Derek Hodge can’t help but feel frustrated by the lack of attention Derek’s case has received in the local media. They are afraid that their son’s murder will become just another homicide, a statistic. Another black kid who falls victim to gun violence. Worst of all, Derek said, his son’s murder will become a cold case.
If you have any information on the murder of Derek Carl Eaddy Hodge II, call NC WANTED toll free at 1.866.43.WANTED (1.866.439.2683) or click on "Report a Tip" Your identity can be kept confidential.
