I Am a KillerSeason 5: Where Are the Killers Now and Will They Walk Free?

Mar. 15, 2025

Christian Sims in ‘I AM A KILLER’.Photo:Netflix/Youtube

Netflix/Youtube

Netflix’s true crime docuseriesI Am a Killertakes viewers inside some of the nation’s toughest maximum security prisons.

Season 5, which premiered in October 2024, features exclusive interviews with seven people convicted of murder. Each hour-long episode examines the killer’s motives and the crimes they committed.

“By tackling challenging themes and including multiple conflicting opinions, viewers have to actively engage with the subject matter as these stories challenge all our preconceptions on the causes of violent crime,” executive producer Ned Parker said in apress release.

So what happened to the criminals onI Am a Killerafter their crimes and trials? Here’s everything to know about where the convicted murderers onI Am a Killerseason 5 are now.

Jamel Hatcher

Jamal Hatcher in ‘I AM A KILLER’.Courtesy of Netflix

Courtesy of Netflix

Episode 1, titled “Redemption,” introduces audiences to Jamel Hatcher — a man from the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio.

In May 2005, Hatcher, while allegedly under the influence of drugs and alcohol, shot and killed his girlfriend, Danielle Boone. Just a month earlier, Boone had given birth to the couple’s daughter, Chyanne.

Hatcher has always maintained that the shooting was an accident, but in 2008, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, perCleveland.com. He has petitioned for an early release, but those requests have been denied. Hatcher remains incarcerated at the Richland Correctional Institution in Mansfield, Ohio, where he started “The Danielle Project,” a program that aims to combat toxic masculinity.

While serving his time, Hatcher reached out to a friend,JaNae' Bates, for support in his early release attempts. The pair married in 2021 with Boone’s grandparents in attendance on Zoom and Bates' Instagram bio says she is the “Proud wife to Jamel Dontez Hatcher.”

Hatcher will be eligible for parole in late 2025.

Christian Sims and Ashley Morrison

Ashley Morrison and Christian Sims in ‘I AM A KILLER’.Courtesy of Netflix

Viewers meet Christian Sims and Ashley Morrison in episode 2 ofI Am a Killertitled “Lost Innocence.”

In December 2014, after years of alleged abuse, Sims shot and killed his grandmother, Annie Lois Sims, at her home outside of Paris, Texas. His then-girlfriend, Morrison, wasn’t present for the crime, but the former couple did flee together in Annie’s car. They were arrested soon after at a motel in Sapulpa, Okla., according toeParisExtra.com.

Under the Texas Law of Parties, which does not differentiate between accomplices to a crime and those who actually commit the crime, Morrison was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of Annie. Meanwhile, Sims received 35 years.

In March 2019, Morrison successfully appealed her conviction. She later waived her right to a second trial. “I was guilty. And I am guilty. I had a choice,” she said inI Am a Killer.“I could have made the choice to try to stop him. I could have made the choice to get help.”

Higinio Gonzalez

Higinio Gonzalez in ‘I AM A KILLER’.Courtesy of Netflix

“Lives Lost,” episode 3 ofI Am a Killer, tells the story of Higinio Gonzalez, who shot and killed Kwik Way cashier Eric Pavilionis during an attempted armed robbery in Montana in April 1996, perThe Billings Gazette.

Gonzalez was 16 at the time and had previously served three months in a youth correctional facility for assault. In 1997, eight months after his 17th birthday, Gonzalez was sentenced to life in prison. However, he will be eligible for parole after 30 years served.

In 2003, Gonzalez’s brother Jesse was sentenced to 10 years in prison for felony assault, kidnapping and torture and was later assigned as his brother’s cellmate at the Montana State Prison. Jesse was released in 2009, while his brother remains incarcerated.

Ezdeth Highley

Ezdeth Highley in ‘I AM A KILLER’.Courtesy of Netflix

Audiences meet Ezdeth Highley in episode 4, “If Things Were Different.” Between the ages of 15 and 29, Highley was incarcerated several times for substance abuse, weapons possession and parole violations.

In 1999, Highley fatally stabbed Paul Harris during a bar fight in Missoula, Mont., according to theMissoulian.The incident occurred four months after she’d been released from prison, and on Aug. 10, 2000, Highley was sentenced to 60 years in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years served.

“Thanksgiving night of 1999, I did something really ignorant to someone that did not deserve it. I let my anger turn to rage. But that’s not who I am anymore," she said onI Am a Killer.“I’ve had to deal with reliving that night for almost 24 years. I really don’t know what it was that triggered me, but I believe the state should release me.”

To date, Highley’s parole has been denied six times. She remains incarcerated at the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge.

Rex Groves

Rex Groves in ‘I AM A KILLER’.Courtesy of Netflix

“Loved to Death,” episode 5 ofI Am a Killer, tells the story of Rex Groves. Under the alleged influence of drugs and alcohol and experiencing paranoia, he killed his grandmother, Mary Gene, with shearing scissors in December 2007. Groves confessed to the murder 12 hours later at the Cass County Sherrif’s Office in Logansport, Ind., per thePharos-Tribune.

Groves claims that he planned to kill his dad on the evening of Dec. 10, who he alleged was abusive throughout his childhood. Instead, Groves went to see his grandma, hoping his rage would subside.

Ahead of his sentencing in 2009, Groves received two evaluations — one doctor diagnosed him with schizophrenia and deemed him legally insane at the time of the murder, while another doctor claimed the opposite. The court then sentenced him to 50 years in a state prison, rather than sending him to a psychiatric hospital.

As of October 2024, he is incarcerated at the Putnamville Correctional Facility in Greencastle, Ind., and may qualify for early release around 2029.

Makueeyapee Whitford

Makueeyapee Whitford in ‘I AM A KILLER’.Courtesy of Netflix

After fleeing the scene, he was arrested and put on trial. Whitford was eventually sentenced to 60 years in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years served, according to theValley Journal. “I am afraid you will not understand the amount of sorrow and regret I have in my heart,” Whitford said at his sentencing.

source: people.com