Man found guilty of killing ex-girlfriend in Summerville | News

Joseph's daughter told him he wasn't welcome, and when he didn't leave immediately, she called 911. He left, but two large bags that he had brought with him remained at the door. Joseph and her daughter told police that Hannah was neither expected nor welcome. Before they left the house, the officers asked them to leave the bags on the side of the road.

According to an analysis of his phone records, Hannah sent multiple text messages to Joseph claiming he was at the Charleston airport, boarded a plane, made a connecting flight and landed in another state. Another text message even suggested he had made it to San Francisco.

But Hannah never left Summerville.

Officers found Hannah squatting in the shed of a nearby home that was for sale on September 4, 2021. He told them he was homeless and looking for a place to stay. The officers allowed him to pack up his belongings and leave.

Analysis of Joseph's phone revealed that Hannah called Joseph nearly 30 times that day – from different numbers – before turning off her phone. His phone records showed he had also sent her several long text messages.

At approximately 1:45 a.m. on September 5, additional Berkeley County officers found Hannah walking on the side of the road. He said again that he was homeless and was just going for a walk.

None of the deputies who met Hannah were the ones who responded to the home on September 2nd.

Twenty minutes before the attack, Hannah sent two long text messages to Joseph, asking her to tell him about a man who had allegedly harassed her and to offer to help her. Rochester said this was Hannah's attempt to deflect suspicion from herself.

Not long after Hannah was discovered by officers in Summerville, Joseph's granddaughter was in the kitchen when she heard someone humming. Worried, she went to wake her brother up, but he dismissed her concerns, she told jurors. She saw Hannah from her bedroom as he kicked in the back door.

The girl quickly locked the door and braced her body against the door. She could feel Hannah's every step through the door as he tried to kick it in. Her brother confronted Hannah, which gave his sister time to escape through her bedroom window.