The Barbara Hoffman Murder Case

On Christmas Day 1977, 31 year old shipping clerk Gerald Davies walked in to the City-County Building in downtown Madison, Wisconsin and delivered some startling news to the Madison police officers who had drawn the holiday shift. Davies said his girlfriend, Barbara Hoffman, told him she had found a dead man's body in her downtown Madison apartment a couple of days earlier, and had dragged it down the stairs and stuck it behind her apartment building. She convinced Davies to help her dispose of the body, so in the early morning hours of December 24th, the two loaded the corpse into Davies' car and drove to a ski jump near suburban Middleton. They buried the body in a snow bank.

Barbara Hoffman was a 25 year old biochemistry student originally from Park Ridge , Illinois. She was an attractive young woman and an excellent student, carrying a 3.9 grade point average. She had everything going for her and had a bright future ahead of her. Or so it seemed. For some reason, Barbara Hoffman's life took a dark turn.

In the 1970's Madison had a thriving sex industry that included several massage parlors. Barbara Hoffman got a job at one called Jan's Health Studio in 1975. There was good money to be made at Jan's, and by all accounts, Barbara was very good at what she did.

The Victim

Davies led the police to the body in the snow bank. The victim was wearing only undershorts, and appeared to have been beaten on the head. He was identified as 52 year old Harry Berge, Jr. a factory worker from nearby Stoughton. Police searched Barbara's apartment for blood or other clues but found nothing there, or in the snow banks behind the building.

The Motive

Berge had met Hoffman at Jan's Health Studio, and they began a relationship outside of the parlor. Berge eventually made Barbara the beneficiary of his life insurance policy, and also co owner of his home. It apparently did not dawn on Berge that the attractive masseuse half his age might have an ulterior motive.

Nearly a month after the body was found, investigators finally found traces of hair and blood in the snow bank behind Hoffman's apartment. The blood matched Harry Berge's. Police had evidence and a motive, and a witness in Davies, who testified in a preliminary hearing that he had helped Hoffman move the body. Barbara Hoffman's arraignment was scheduled for April 6, 1978, and it looked good for the prosecution. It looked good, that is, until a another shocking discovery threatened to unravel everything.

Another Victim

On March 27th, 1978, key witness Gerald Davies was found dead in his bathtub. Not only was Davies now silent, he had made things worse for the prosecution before he died. He had written letters to District Attorney Jim Doyle, Hoffman's defense attorney Donald Eisenberg, a local newspaper, and the police department Captain of Detectives. In these letters, Davies recanted his earlier statements implicating Hoffman, though he did not indicate who else may have committed the murder.

It originally was thought that Davies had committed suicide, as an empty sedative bottle was found nearby. The crime lab looked for all types of poisons in Davies body but came up with nothing. Then, a test for cyanide revealed Davies' body had a concentration two and a half times the lethal dose. A subsequent test on Berge's organs showed a cyanide level 37 times the lethal dose. The coroner stated that Berge's head injuries may have been the result of convulsions from the cyanide poisoning.

Like Berge, Gerald Davies had met Hoffman at Jan's Health Studio, and had started a relationship with her. And like Berge, Davies made Hoffman the beneficiary of his life insurance policy.

A New Witness

Then, another witness stepped forward. William Garrott, who operated Jan's Health Studio when Hoffman worked there, had information and was willing to make a deal. He would testify that Hoffman had told him about how she planned to marry a man with life insurance, go to Mexico for the honeymoon, and kill him there, and have the body cremated upon returning to the U.S. In exchange for his cooperation, Garrott wanted reduced charges for his business partner, Sam Cerro, who faced drug dealing and gambling charges. The district attorney agreed to the deal.

At a hearing in November 1978, the prosecution surprised everyone by announcing to the court that it was prepared to drop the Berge murder charge against Hoffman. To defense attorney Eisenberg, it looked like the prosecution had conceded defeat and he had won this high profile case without going to trial. But as the courtroom emptied out, two Madison police department detectives arrested Barbara Hoffman again. This time it was for the murders of both Harry Berge and Gerald Davies. Donald Eisenberg was furious, and he and the detectives had to be separated by bailiffs before punches were exchanged.

The Trial

After still more delays, the long awaited trial began on June 16th, 1980, Barbara Hoffman's 28th birthday. Donald Eisenberg faced a dilemma. He had represented prosecution witness William Garrott and his business partner Sam Cerro on unrelated issues in the past. This meant that one client of his would be testifying against another, a conflict of interest that was clearly at odds with the State Bar Association. But Donald Eisenberg had a reputation in the courtroom for flamboyance and he loved the limelight. He refused to step aside and continued to represent Hoffman.

The state supreme court had recently allowed television cameras into the courtroom, and the Hoffman trial was the first in the state with gavel to gavel coverage. Reporters came from far and wide. Television news anchormen left their desks to report from the field. Everyone wanted to be a part of the event. The courtroom was packed with spectators while those at home watched the news reports with morbid fascination as details of the case, and of Madison's shadowy sex industry, came to light.

Testimony in the case lasted for seven days. Barbara Hoffman did not take the stand. Most of the time she appeared stoic and emotionless, almost cold. When closing arguments were presented to the jury on June 27th, Eisenberg argued that Gerald Davies had killed Harry Berge in a jealous rage. Unable to live with what he had done, and what had happened to Barbara Hoffman in the wake of the murder, Davies committed suicide. Hoffman's parents had provided alibis for the days the murders occurred, saying she was in Park Ridge with them.

But in his rebuttal, prosecutor John Burr provided phone records showing Hoffman had made and received calls at her Madison apartment when her parents said she was with them. Garrott's testimony and the blood evidence matching Berge were key factors in the prosecution case.

The Verdict

The jury deliberated for nine hours over two days. They found Barbara Hoffman guilty of killing Harry Berge, but not guilty of killing Gerald Davies. On July 1st, Hoffman was sentenced to life in prison for first degree murder. Prior to sentencing, Hoffman made her only statement of the trial, saying to the court " I did not commit the crime of which I am accused and for which I have been convicted. And that's all I have to say"

Aftermath

The Barbara Hoffman murder trial exposed a part of Madison that many people found distasteful, and the backlash against the sex industry greatly reduced its presence in the city, though of course, such things are never eliminated entirely.

Defense attorney Donald Eisenberg did lose his law license for a time due to conflict of interest in the Hoffman case. He eventually got it back.

The case was the subject of a made for TV movie in 2009.

There may actually be some truth in what Barbara Hoffman said about being not guilty of the crime "for which I have been convicted". Some have theorized that Harry Berge may have accidently poisoned himself with cyanide while visiting Barbara. Berge drank coffee with sugar, and it is possible he put cyanide in his coffee by mistake, thinking it was sugar. That may explain why such a high level of cyanide was present in him. A teaspoon or two is a lot of cyanide in terms of toxicity. So, Hoffman may have indeed killed Davies, but not Berge.

Since her sentencing in July 1980, Barbara Hoffman has been incarcerated at the Taycheedah Correctional Institution for Women near Fond du Lac, WI. She was denied parole in 1991, and has not been seeking it , although she is eligible to do so. Barbara wasn't kidding when she said "that's all I have to say " back in 1980. She has not spoken publicly of the crime, and refuses interviews. It is uncertain whether the mysterious Barbara Hoffman will ever speak about the crime or will be content to take her secrets to her grave.

Follow this link for a photo of Barbara Hoffman at her trial.

Sources:

Balousek, Marv. 50 Wisconsin Crimes of the Century. Oregon, WI: Badger Books, 1997

Barbara Hoffman's Sensational Murder Trial subject of Film Fest Premier by Mike Miller, Capital Times, April 6, 2009

Harter, Karl. Winter of Frozen Dreams New York: Pinnacle Books, 1990

Sex, Beauty, Greed, Murder New Movie Rekindles Fascination in Madison Killer-Prostitute Story by Ryan J; Foley, Associated Press, March 30, 2009.