ELLIS COUNTY, Texas — An Ellis County man charged with killing his friend with a hammer has been convicted of his murder.
A jury found Trenton Adams, 31, of Avalon, Texas, guilty of capital murder this week in the 2021 death of Jordan Von Hoffman. Adams was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The Ellis County Sheriff's Office found Von Hoffman's body on March 24 in the 6900 block Ensign Road in Ennis. The Dallas County Medical Examiner said the 29-year-old had been killed by "compression of his neck and blunt force trauma consistent with being hit in the head with a hammer."
In a trash can near the property, investigators discovered a hammer with Von Hoffman's DNA and other items such as bloody gloves with Adams' DNA, a key piece of evidence linking him to the murder.
“This was an extraordinarily brutal crime,” said District Attorney Ann Montgomery in a statement. “ I am also thankful that Trenton Adams will never walk freely in Texas again.”
When deputies obtained a warrant for Adams he fled to San Marcos, then traveled to Fort Worth, and was finally captured in Houston.
While on the run, Adams called into dispatch multiple times confessing to the murder. He also posted on Facebook admitting to the murder claiming Hoffman hurt a child — which Ellis County investigators determined that claim was false.
Adams changed his motive for the murder several times.
He sent a letter to Ellis County and the DA's Office and admitted to the killing but stated that he “worships death” and that he carries out “rites and rituals of Satanic worship, including blood sacrifices.”
Deputies also discovered that Adams believed that Von Hoffman and his girlfriend had had a sexual encounter.
Judge Ermatinger sentenced Adams to life without parole.
“I am pleased that justice was served for Jordan and his family," said Montgomery.
