Upshur County jury returns life sentence

On August 20, 2020, Upshur County Deputies responded to a 911 call in the Union Grove area of Upshur County. Joshua David Verhoef (W/M, DOB: 5/5/1982) had struck his victim and strangled her multiple times inside her home. She was able to flee out the door and run to the neighbor’s home who called 911. Upon deputies arriving, they met the victim and she was clearly upset, crying, and had visible signs of multiple injuries to her body. She told deputies what the defendant had done and that he was combative and on Methamphetamine. After officers received her story, an attempt to speak with the defendant was made. He had locked himself inside and refused to exit the house. After over an hour of trying to get him to comply, officers knocked the glass out of the back door, entered the residence, and took the defendant into custody.

The seven-man, five-woman jury heard two days of testimony. The defendant had previously been convicted of Assault/Family Violence against his mother, as well as four felony offenses within the last four years. He was currently on parole and had been arrested in Gregg County for Possession of Methamphetamine just a week prior to this offense.

The defendant was in a dating relationship with the victim, who he had known since grade school, and they had just recently reconnected. The relationship became very abusive, and evidence showed that he had assaulted the victim multiple times.

With 23 prior criminal convictions, including multiple felonies, the State filed a notice to increase his punishment range to 25 to Life. The jury took approximately 20 minutes to find guilt and about 30 minutes to assess the life sentence.

Judge Dean Fowler presided over the trial. The State was represented by Assistant District Attorneys Catherine McQueen and Michael F. Northcutt, Jr.

We appreciate the hard work of our Upshur County citizens and are thankful that the victim and many others are now safe from his violence.

Billy W. Byrd

Criminal District Attorney

Upshur County, Texas