Man Sentenced To Life Without Parole In Fatal Stabbing Of Gas Station Employee
JOHNSTON COUNTY, N.C. – A Johnston County jury has convicted a man in the 2022 fatal stabbing of a 19-year-old employee at a Murphy USA gas station near the Interstate 40 and N.C. 42 interchange.
District Attorney Jason Waller announced Friday that a jury on May 21 found Alexander Leon Herrera guilty of first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon in the death of William Hayden Fitzpatrick.
Following the verdict, Resident Superior Court Judge Paul Holcombe sentenced Herrera to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder conviction and an additional consecutive sentence of 60 to 84 months for the robbery conviction.
According to prosecutors, Fitzpatrick was working at the Murphy USA gas station on Nov. 25, 2022 — the day after Thanksgiving — when he was attacked shortly before 5 p.m.
Authorities said Herrera, who was 18 at the time, lured Fitzpatrick to a restroom inside the business, where he stabbed him 19 times before taking his empty wallet and fleeing the scene.
Herrera was later captured nearby by a K-9 unit with the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office.
Despite efforts by bystanders and first responders to save him, Fitzpatrick died at the scene from multiple stab wounds.
During the sentencing phase, members of Fitzpatrick’s family delivered victim impact statements describing their loss while also remembering his close relationship with family members and his kind-hearted personality.
In a statement released after the verdict, Waller thanked jurors for their service during the trial.
“We are grateful to the jury for their time, diligence, and commitment to justice in this difficult case,” Waller said. “While no verdict can restore Will to his loved ones, today’s outcome holds the defendant accountable for this horrific act of violence.”
Waller also praised investigators and prosecutors involved in the case. “This conviction was the result of the tireless efforts of Lieutenant Meredith Langston and
the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office, along with the dedication and professionalism of Assistant District Attorneys Jimmy Wilson and Kristin Terwey,” Waller said. “Their commitment ensured that justice was served.”
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Sooooo why are the we tax payers paying to keep this pos up for the rest of his life?!?!? Syringes are fairly cheap and I’m sure someone would donate one! SMDH! Pathetic!
Too many of these Life W/O Parole being handed out.
Genesis 9:6 – we should follow it.
Interestingly enough, it seems that a known fact that it’s actually cheaper on taxpayers to have prisoners serving life with no parole than to have them waiting to die on death row is grossly ignored or not as known as it could be. Knowledge is power..that’s how sense is built..
The costs to house and maintain death row inmates and most notably the costs of appeals for a death row inmate is far more expensive on the people than many realize and a little research would serve to do many well who are misinformed in their views on legal action and punishment. Execution is costly. It is not the cheaper option. Allowing a person to live with the consequences of their actions behind bars for the rest of their lives with no parole is basically the exact same punishment as having them sentenced to death and awaiting execution with one distinct exception. They will die behind bars either way, but no parole allows for the taxpayers to not only have the same assurance of safety that this particular individual shall no longer be a threat and danger to society while costing them significantly far less of a tax burden.
If the prisoner were sentenced to death and awaiting lethal injection, the appeals process alone will hold up the execution process while costing taxpayers thousands to millions of dollars all in the attempts to commute their sentence to life with no parole which is basically what occurs if they win their appeal while costing you the tax payer more money. The costs of these appeals and their timely processes which death row inmates are allowed to fully exhaust actually costs taxpayers far more than the no chance of parole sentence because the no chance of parole is given to ensure that the inmates don’t get to appeal their inevitable death at the taxpayers expense. I hope this makes sense to the majority of you that didn’t know this. Good day.
Currently it is more expensive but if they went with a firing squad, and one appeal and exterminate the known killers withing 1 year, that would save money and be a deterrent. Right now there is no deterrent.
JOCO REPORTS??? PLEASE DON’T SHOW THIS SLIMY MURDERER’S FACE IN THIS NEWS PIECE! PLEASE/ Show the face of the poor teenager that lost his life that night! This B@St**D deserves not one right to have his FACE SHOWN TO PUBLIC REVIEW.. HE IS SCUM, HE REALLY DESERVES TO THE DEATH PENALTY!!!!
I agree 100% with you!!
This guy looks crazy maybe a mental health thing
Talk about the victims not the killer!
I was actually friends with the victim, at one time. He was for the most part, a good guy. Glad he got justice in the end.
False.
It’s only expensive because we make it expensive.