BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. –Several years since the tragic death of Nicole Goodlett, a young Upstate mother, her family now inches closer to justice. On Tuesday, detectives with the Berkeley county Sheriffs Office and members of the U.S. Marshals task force arrested her former boyfriend in connection with her murder. Now the young woman’s family is finally reacting to the arrest.
“That was big news for our family. It was big news to hear.” said James Goodlett, the victim’s father. “We’ve been suffering with this for over four years.”
Nicole was the Spartanburg mother of three who was reported missing back in March 2014 and later her remains were found in the woods by a hunter in Huger. Four years later, Berkeley County Sheriff’s deputies arrested her then boyfriend and the father of two of her children, Jerald Howard, 36, of Huger. Officers pulled him over in Goose Creek and booked him on murder charges at the Hill Finklea Detention Center on March 26, 2018. A magistrate judge has denied his bond at this time, so he remains behind bars.
“It’s impossible to say there’s peace or any kind of way to prepare yourself for it,” said Goodlett. “It’s horrible that a human being would do something like that, to take another, the mother of his children, and she would be found in that kind of condition. She was spread over such a large area.”
Goodlett, of Abilene, TX, says his daughter Nicole moved to the Spartanburg area back in 2012 because her brother was living there. He says he and his wife then met Nicole’s boyfriend Jerald via a Skype conversation and later in real life on a trip to South Carolina.
[PRIOR STORY: Coroner: Remains of Mother of Three Found in Cainhoy]
“We heard that Nicole was going to have twins. We, as the term, ‘broke bread’ together. We talked about his plans, his future, where he came from, all kinds of different things. Pretty much I wanted to establish a relationship… My impression then was he carried himself very well, seemed to be an honest person, gave a resume of his jobs, a college grad, a good impression made,” said Goodlett.
But Goodlett says that impression turned to suspicion right after Nicole’s disappearance. “As we talked with Howard over the time we knew him, we constantly, I was in contact with him with Nicole, I told him, ‘Be honest with me, talk with me, let me know what’s going on.’ Of course he didn’t do that. It’s been very difficult.”
He says Nicole never shared any details of problems or strain in her relationship. He said in fact, they were planning a trip to South Carolina to help her with the twin babies, just before her disappearance.
Goodlett says these days he and his wife honor their daughter’s memory by seeing her through her nine-year-old son and four-year-old twin daughters. Goodlett and his wife now have custody and they are raising the children in Texas, always telling them memories about their “Mama Nicole.”
Moving ahead, Goodlett is hoping for a trial and for some closure.
“He chose to do something that was inhumane. What happens to him, I hope that we get justice for Nicole, justice from our legal system,” said Goodlett.
Berkeley County investigators worked jointly with Spartanburg County deputies on this case. Investigators say car rental records, bank and debit card usage, and evidence of a struggle in the couple’s master bathroom were all clues that lead to the arrest. They say on Howard’s phone were search records for “Can you identify a burned body” and “How authorities identify a burned body” after Goodlett’s death.
[PRIOR STORY: Detectives: Romance novels raise suspicion in young mom’s disappearance]
Howard, who grew up in Huger, will face another bond hearing with a circuit court judge. That date has not yet been set, but Goodlett says he plans to be there.
- Grinch, Villain Friends Help Others This Christmas With Funny Photoshoot In Berkeley County - December 7, 2020
- Goose Creek Firefighters Help Family In Their Fight Against Breast Cancer - November 29, 2020
- Moncks Corner Christmas Light Show, Family Tradition Not Broken By Pandemic - November 22, 2020
Recent Comments