Brutal killing of Lexington woman, 73, by son’s ex-fiancée, accomplice is TV show’s focus
The death of a Lexington woman who was robbed, beaten to death and stuffed in the trunk of a car set afire will be featured in an upcoming Investigation Discovery show.
Thursday’s “Deadly Women” episode will chronicle Virginia Caudill and Johnathon Goforth, who are on death row for the murder of Lonetta White 21 years ago. The mother of Caudill’s ex-fiancée, White was a 73-year-old widow when she was killed on March 15, 1998.
White was hit at least 15 times with a hammer at her Bryanwood Parkway home. She was still alive when the fire was set, but they were not sure if she was conscious, according to trial testimony.. Her head was wrapped in a gas-soaked towel. Her charred body was discovered in the trunk of her vehicle.
“These blows would cause an extreme amount of pain and a lot of bleeding,” said Greg Davis, Kentucky’s former associate chief medical examiner. “But there was no injury to Mrs. White’s head that would have rendered her unconscious immediately. Mrs. White would have been aware of her fate for some time during her assault.”
White was targeted because Caudill had been engaged to marry her son until two days before the murder and she knew of White’s relative wealth, Fayette County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Larson told jurors.
Caudill and Goforth, who were both 39 when they were convicted, tried to pin the murder on one another. Caudill and Goforth said they were high on crack the day of the murder. Caudill said they went to White’s home to try to get money for another fix when Goforth attacked the elderly woman.
Goforth said Caudill used a hammer to smash White’s skull because White would not give Caudill money.
“It lasted just seconds but it seemed like an eternity,” Goforth testified. “I was in shock. I had never seen anything like that in my whole life — and I’ve seen a lot.”
It was never proven in court who wielded the hammer, but both were convicted of murder. Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Mike Malone told jurors the crime took two people acting together.
“They weren’t going to hang pictures at 3 o’clock in the morning,” he said. “You don’t need a hammer to borrow money.”
The pair were arrested after the case was featured on the television show “America’s Most Wanted.”
In addition to murder, Caudill and Goforth were eventually convicted of robbery, burglary, arson and evidence tampering. Stolen from White’s house were mink coats, jewelry, and two guns, one of which was a loaded assault rifle.
Goforth intended to marry White’s son, Steven, until two days before the killing. White’s car and her body were burned in the spot off Royster Road where Steven used to go ponder sad events in his life.
A Danville native and one of 14 children, White was described in court as a loving woman with a taste for flamboyant clothes, a person who had succeeded throughout life and never hurt a soul.
Caudill and Goforth remain on death row. Goforth is in the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville, while Caudill is being housed in the Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women in Pewee Valley. Caudill, the only woman on Kentucky’s death row, lost an appeal in 2014.
The episode of “Deadly Women” will air Thursday at 9 p.m.
This story was originally published October 15, 2019 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Brutal killing of Lexington woman, 73, by son’s ex-fiancée, accomplice is TV show’s focus."