The Shocking Murder of Candace Hiltz UPDATE

Episode 016 - The Shocking Murder of Candace Hiltz

Seventeen year old Candace Hiltz had been a child prodigy.  Performing complex math by age 11, she had a bright future and hoped to get involved in law with her ultimate goal to become a Supreme Court Justice.  Unfortunately, Candace was murdered August 15th, 2006.

In the weeks leading up to her death, Candace had clashed with the Fremont County Sheriff’s department in regard to their pursuit of her brother about a trespassing complaint.  Her brother, James, suffers from multiple psychological issues.

During the discussion, Candace did not like the way the Deputy was speaking to her family and made it clear that she wanted him to leave.  The deputy threatened to arrest Candace who responded that he should,  and she’d be happy to tell the authorities all about how she’d seen him accepting envelopes from local drug dealers.

A few days later the Hiltz family dog vanished from the property.  When Candace went to report it to the sheriff’s department she got into an argument with Deputy Robert Dodd.  While it was possible the dog had been attacked by an animal, the family lived in a remote area, they also felt there was something suspicious about it.

On August 15th, Candace’s mother left the family home, where Candace and her 11 month old daughter remained.  Upon her return several hours later she found a disturbing scene.  Candace’s daughter, Paige, screaming in her crib.  Upon further checking of the house she found blood spatter and pools of blood on the floor.  Under a bed, wrapped in a green comforter, she found Candace’s body.  She had been shot multiple times, predominantly in the head.

Deputies Briscoe and Dodd were put in charge of the investigation.  According to Candace’s family, the investigation was done poorly, the crime scene was hardly examined and multiple pieces of evidence were left behind including shotgun shells, bloody towels, the green comforter and Candace’s shirt.  Deputies chose to focus on Candace’s brother and seemed focused on him, dismissing alternative theories.  Days after Candace’s murder the family dog was found.  It had been tied to a tree and butchered with an axe.

When the official autopsy report was released there were multiple errors.  The report claimed Candace’s boyfriend had found her, but her mother had actually done so and Candace in fact did not have a boyfriend.  In addition to that, it reported that three guns had been used in the murder though shells had only been found connected to two guns.  

In December of 2016, a local man paid $50.00 to purchase an abandoned storage unit.  Quickly upon entering he realized something was wrong.  Among many items related to law enforcement there was a bloody axe and a bloody pair of socks, later determined to have been evidence connected to Candace’s case.  It was later determined that the storage unit had previously belonged to Deputy Robert Dodd.

Dodd was placed on administrative leave and five months later Deputy Dodd retired from the Sheriff’s department.

CASE UPDATE -

In June of 2018 Robert Dodd was arrested and charged with one misdemeanor count of abuse of public records and two counts of official misconduct related to the evidence found in the storage unit.

Dodd was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to 180 days on the misdemeanor charge, with 165 days been suspended.  He was hit with a $500 fine for the misdemeanor as well as a $250 fine for each of the other two offenses.

According to the trial, the evidence had sat in a locker in his office for a year because he claimed he wanted to take more photos and write a comprehensive report.  When he moved offices he brought the evidence home and then later put it in his storage unit.

Dodd filed an appeal after his convictions, and in May of 2019 his appeal was dismissed and the charges upheld.  District Attorney Molly Chilson who was involved in Dodd’s prosecution spoke to the press after the appeal was dismissed, saying “The defendant argues upholding his convictions would result in a parade of horribles, a slippery slope, whereby any peace officer could be prosecuted for a good-faith mistake in the course of duty.  That is not what this case is about.  This is about the defendant and his grave and criminal departure from the duties of his office, his abuse of the public trust and his efforts to conceal his misconduct by abusing the public record.”

While Dodd’s convictions give some comfort to Candace’s family they believed Dodd should have been given more time and larger penalties.  Sadly, there are bigger questions that remain to be answered and it is the belief of many that the identity of Candace’s killer may be attached to someone working for the Sheriff’s department at the time of her death.  Candace’s case remains open, though as of this release, her brother remains the only named suspect to date despite no evidence to connect him to the crime.