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Man arrested in death of Woodinville High School teacher

by KING 5 News

KING5.com

Posted on December 28, 2011 at 5:01 PM

Updated Wednesday, Dec 28 at 11:23 PM

SEATTLE – A popular Woodinville High School teacher was killed on Christmas Eve and a man that she had been dating has been arrested.

Seattle Police say on Christmas Eve, Prudence Hockley stepped outside of her home in Phinney Ridge to talk to the man.

Some of the neighbors heard voices and a loud thump. Hockley's 13-year-old daughter found her mother outside and called 911. 

Hockley was taken to the hospital with a serious head injury, but died.

Shared memories and condolences are being spread throughout Facebook. Hockley’s neighbors describe her as a vibrant single mother, a bit sassy and great with children. She was an English teacher at Woodinville High School.

Neighbors say it's hard coming to terms with the loss and can't help but think of her 13-year-old.

"When I think about what happened of course that was the first thing that you start to think about was what about her daughter," said Miranda Meyer.

Police say the man who killed Hockley is Johnny Wiggins. He was arrested Wednesday.

Neighbors say they saw him around lot this summer and not as often lately. It might be because was sent back to Georgia after punching a community corrections officer in Seattle.

It’s not yet known why he was on parole in Georgia and it’s not known if he came back here legally.

Hockley joined the faculty of Woodinville High School in the 1997-1998 school year. She was a native of New Zealand who did graduate studies at the University of Canterbury and the University of Washington.

Woodinville High School Principal Kurt Criscioine sent a letter to families of students, saying “Ms.Hockley was an extraordinary teacher who was passionate about learning, reading and writing. Known for her high expectations, she developed strong relationships with students and pushed them outside of their comfort zones to expand their learning. She will forever be remembered for her dynamic personality and teaching style.”

Criscione said the district Crisis Team will be at school throughout the week to help support students and staff members and memorial plans will be announced at a later date.

A memorial page has been set up on Facebook for Hockley.

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Comments: Displaying 1 - 15 of 18

LisaMarie70 said on December 29, 2011 at 6:18 PM

I checked out the website memorial for Prudence and another website. She was a dedicated body builder. I wonder how possible it would be for her to have extended a helping hand to a stranger at the gym there in GreenLake and have met him that way. Whatever the situation, people-people, often try to overlook the flaws of people and work toward helping the person. Prudence looks like a very upbeat women with a free spirit. I am so sorry for her 13 year old daughter, who found her and saw this coward walk away from her mother's body. Hopefully, a memorial will be set up for her young daughter, so she can be able to get help to begin making some sense of all this. My prayers and condolescences to the family.

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bitemex5 said on December 29, 2011 at 6:17 PM

@wrsawy thats the stupidest thing ever said...making her a victim twice....men make just as stupid mistakes as women...ever watch Snapped???

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emptynestr said on December 29, 2011 at 5:40 PM

joanie62: I am so sorry for your loss and kudos to you for waiting until your kids were raised before looking for that perfect man. I wish you well. Your two sons will be your support for now. And I am sure they are your treasure. I know mine are. Thank you for your testimony of a life lived well in spite of a failed first marriage. God bless you.

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joanie62 said on December 29, 2011 at 1:42 PM

Sorry for the misspelled word. A lesson I learned is the correct statement... I noticed the last time I misspelled a word some other person had to make a rather unnecessary big deal over it. For that person who was upset about such a SMALL matter I pray you find more important issues to address.

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joanie62 said on December 29, 2011 at 1:34 PM

Firstly my prayers and thoughts our for her daughter. May the love of family and friends keep her safe. For all you women who think a man must validate who you are, remember " a women without a man is like a fish without a bicycle Fish do not need a bicycle to travel and be free" A listen I learned is before you become serious about a man find out how he fells about his grandmother, his mother, his sister, his aunt. If he does not honor them then you'd better walk away as he will not honor you. I waited 15yrs after my first marriage failed before I found the perfect man for me. This was after I raised my two sons on my own. My love Donald and I were together 17yrs when he became very ill and passed away August 2010.

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emptynestr said on December 29, 2011 at 9:43 AM

Yes, and so WHAT WILL happen to the daughter now that her single mom is gone? For a young teen that has to be devastating. It changes her whole world and life. It changes who she is. And how will she ever get over this trauma? My heart goes out to her and I hope she has plenty of wonderful extended family members who will take her in and help her move on in her life. She was a brave young girl to go outside to see what had happened to her mom and then think to call 911 under the horrible circumstances. Who knows if the guy was still around who could have killed her too? Prudence...I am just so so sorry for your loss. I can't even imagine what you are going through right now. I do hope you will be able to get through this horrible time in your life to honor your mother by living well in spite of the terrible tragedy that took her life from you.

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fwkc63 said on December 29, 2011 at 8:58 AM

To all you that are sitting in judgement of this single mom.... WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!?! You don't know HOW she met this man or anything about her life!!! Don't sit there and throw out accusations unless you know the absolute truth to the story!! My heart goes out to the daughter and her family.

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vffrwm said on December 29, 2011 at 7:51 AM

Thats exactly what I thought. A convict. Our hearts break for the daughter because she now has to face life without her Mom and that is in deed heartbreaking. But why in the world are women hooking up with pond scum like this guy? There are lots of ways to check backgrounds and then for the PD to say they not ever sure this guy was here legally is yet another breakdown in the system. Yes, ANOTHER breakdown in the system. Look at the picture of this guy and as they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

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LisaMarie70 said on December 29, 2011 at 12:58 AM

@wrsway: And men need to stop killing women. Sound ridiculous and derogatory?....kind of like your comment? What does the sex of a person have to do with making "bad decisions"?

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conro25 said on December 28, 2011 at 11:50 PM

Wow speaking of common sense, it seems many here lack the common sense necessary to make tasteful comments..the self-righteousness is depressing. My condolences to the family.

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conseula said on December 28, 2011 at 10:54 PM

I am sorry about the loss of thise beautiful woman's/mother's life. I guess I missed something..Didn't know that she found this man on a dating website (?)..You can have all the degrees available, from the most impressive collegews in the world, graduate suma cumlaude, have the IQ of Einstein but many times, one thing missing in this impressive resume...COMMON SENSE! People like this can deal with the complex, but when it comes to everyday living they find it hard to be logical in the real world.

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ANONY said on December 28, 2011 at 9:49 PM

Dating websites are generally bad news. If you don't believe me, check it out over time. You will see that the same people are out there year after year. You have to be willing to kiss a LOT of frogs (or field their email) to get to some good candidates. I found two in three years that I would even have dinner with and ran background checks on both before I went. Both were very senior execs of major companies and still didn't let either near my home or child until I determined whether there was a fit. Overprotective? Sure. You SHOULD be EXTREMELY cautious of who you are picking up on the internet. Ultimately, I determined that the dating sites were NOT where my target prospects were. They were too busy doing to even be bothered with that hot mess.

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ANONY said on December 28, 2011 at 9:41 PM

@emptynestr SO RIGHT YOU ARE. Many single parents are single because they didn't make a good choice with the prior mate. You have to look at your life as a single parent and decide if it's better than the previous situation - and be extremely cautious about who you let in this time around - if anyone. There is a lot to be said for raising a child in a peaceful home even if you are serving as mom and dad. While that takes a LOT of effort, it's worth every minute. So, if you're a single parent, PLEASE be cautious and do an in-depth check on any prospective partner. It's not only your life, but your child's that's on the line here. What a sad loss.

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LisaMarie70 said on December 28, 2011 at 7:03 PM

P.S. Dating websites are not fool-proof and, for hackers, it can be a candy store. I received a bunch middle of the night silent calls, that could not be traced....hmmm....my number is unpublished. Who's to say that her date didn't get her address that way?

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LisaMarie70 said on December 28, 2011 at 6:59 PM

How tragic! My sincerest condolescences to Prudence's family. This whole thing can happen all too easily! As a single mother, I can say that this online dating has added a twist to things. It truly is blind dating. I have used the Washington State Patrol to do my backgrounds checks prior to ever having a second coffee date with a man. I actually dated a gentleman, right out of my divorce, who I discovered after our first date, through this website, was a felon! Now, bear in mind, that they can only run an arrest package for arrests made in Washington state, so if the date is from somewhere else, you might still be stuck with the same problem. Intellius is somewhat incomplete in their reporting, as I have sadly discovered. It is almost better to join a single's group at your church. New Life in Everett and Bethany Christian Assembly have them. I am so, so sorry that this happened. It brings tears to my eyes, because I have a 14 year old daughter.

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myopinion said on December 28, 2011 at 6:40 PM

wrsawy and emptynestr--- pretty bleeping rude of you to put any blame on the victim

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emptynestr said on December 28, 2011 at 5:34 PM

So sad for her 13 year old daughter. What I don't understand is...what was she doing datine a man with a record in the first place...especially since she has a teen age daughter to take care of. Not great thinking on her part. I understand single parents want to have someone in their life but if they have children their kids should come first until they are out to fhe nest. So now what is her daughter's life going to be like? I am so sorry that her mom was killed like that. That she had to find her like that. I am sorry for all the students at Woodinville High who loved her as their teacher and who will really miss her. But...sadly people make choices and sometimes those choices are not good ones. And they change the world around them when they do. SINGLE PARENTS out there...Please be careful who you associate with especially if you have young children to care for. You are their protector. Please choose wisely.

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Kim62 said on December 28, 2011 at 5:11 PM

What a sad way for a life to end. Now the suspect can have a LOT more disputes with the DOC, since he will be locked up for the rest of his miserable life.

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