Friend will continue search for Debbie Hawk

Published online on Monday, Aug. 31, 2009

Sandra Lackey always promised to seek justice for her close friend, Debbie Hawk.

Hawk, a 46-year-old mother and pharmaceutical saleswoman, vanished from her Hanford home in June 2006. She left behind blood, a ransacked house and a consuming mystery.

Friday, a jury of 10 women and two men solved part of the mystery -- and delivered on Lackey's promise -- by convicting Hawk's ex-husband, Dave, of first-degree murder in a Kings County courtroom.

For Lackey -- who attended each day of the two-week trial -- it was the only logical outcome. She said: "I would have been more surprised if they had not come back with a conviction."

The jury's decision, on the third day of deliberation, evoked both elation and disappointment. The case -- and the ongoing puzzle of Hawk's whereabouts -- has mesmerized the community for three years.

"I was pleased with what the jury did," Ione Powell said in Hanford on Saturday. "From the beginning I thought he'd done it, because of the money issues."

During the trial, prosecutors contended that Hawk, 51, killed his ex-wife because she questioned his use of their children's trust funds. Investigators found Debbie Hawk's blood in her home; several neighbors said they heard screams the day she disappeared.

But authorities had no physical evidence linking Dave Hawk to her disappearance, defense attorneys said. They also argued that he had an alibi, and that he didn't have a motive because the trust fund dispute already had become public.

Entertainer Rene Gomez of Visalia, who attended much of the trial, said he wondered about the lack of a body. But the crime "just seemed too personal," Gomez said. "Everything pointed to him [Hawk]."

Other reactions followed predictable lines for those closest to the case.

John Kenney, an elder at Lemoore Presbyterian Church, went to the trial to lend support to Dave Hawk.

"I'm very much disappointed, obviously," Kenney said. "I'm extremely sad for the girls that they're not going to have their father back for a while. I feel at least on the murder, he should have been found not guilty."

On Saturday, a woman who answered the phone at the home of Dave Hawk's parents said they had no comment.

The tone was different for those who supported the verdict. Hanford Police Chief Carlos Mestas said he was elated: "I know without a doubt that Mr. Hawk was responsible for Debbie's death."

Dave Hawk is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 4. He faces life in prison. He also was convicted on five counts of tax evasion for failing to file tax returns from 2001 to 2005, one count of perjury for falsely stating under oath that he had filed a tax return, and three counts of embezzlement.

Lackey, one of Debbie Hawk's longtime friends, said she will be in court for Hawk's sentencing. She now lives in Stanislaus County and has put roughly 70,000 miles on her car -- driving to Hanford -- since Hawk's disappearance in 2006.

Lackey said she never will stop looking for Hawk, whom she praised as a wonderful mother, co-worker and friend.

"I hope that people keep their eyes open," she said. "I won't ever give up hope."