Deepra Sarkar
Barbara Nunn, a single mother, relocated to Florida in search of new opportunities for her child and her. Fortunately, she landed a job at the local Waffle House in Davie. However, her life soon changed forever when two unwelcome guests visited the diner. Investigation Discovery picked up this baffling case as a feature in one of its true-crime series, ‘Your Worst Nightmare Before Christmas’.
In the series, which highlights crimes through realistic re-enactments of key events, an episode titled ‘The Night Shift’, highlights Nunn’s life-changing experience. On March 11, 2002, one of the two robbers, Gerhard Hojan, who had come into the store previously as a regular customer, locked Nunn and her co-employees Christina Delarosa and Willy Absolu in a freezer. Gerhard Hojan then ordered the three of them to kneel on the ground, shooting each of them.
Delarosa and Absolu were killed while Nunn managed to survive to retell the horrors of that day. She had identified the two robbers, following which they were convicted and sentenced accordingly. Jimmy Mickel, the other robber, was acquitted of murder charges, but his sentence to serve five life sentences for his involvement in the crime was retained. If you are curious to know what happened to Hojan, we have got you covered.
Who Is Gerhard Hojan?
Gerhard Hojan was a regular and frequent customer at the Davie Waffle House, where Barbara Nunn worked with two of her colleagues, Willy Absolu from Plantation and Christina Delarosa from Davie. Delarosa was only 17 and had a son who was merely six-months-old when she was last alive. On the fateful day of the incident, Hojan and his accomplice Jimmy Mickel entered the Waffle House, where the two had breakfast. Afterward, Mickel went and retrieved a pair of bolt cutters while Hojan ordered the three workers to go to the back of the kitchen where they were locked in a freezer.
Later, when Hojan returned to check on them for the third time, he told them to get on their knees on the ground and proceeded to shoot them. He shot Nunn first and then shot Delarosa and Absolu twice, killing both of them instantly. Fortunately, Nunn survived the shot. When she gained consciousness, she managed to walk to the nearby gas station, where with the help of the night attendant, she informed 911. Following this, Hojan and Mickel were arrested and convicted.
Where is Gerhard Hojan Now?
In 2003, Gerhard Hojan stood trial for two counts of first-degree murder for the death of Willy Absolu and Christina Delarosa, one count of attempted first-degree murder for shooting Barbara Nunn non-lethally, and armed robbery and kidnapping. According to witness Barbara Nunn, who was the sole survivor of the incident, Delarosa had tried to crawl under the racks, but Hojan shot her twice, which killed her on the spot. Initially, it was believed that it was Mickel who had substantially pulled the strings of the operation and “dominated Hojan during the entire criminal episode”.
Following this trial, Hojan was sentenced to death on the opinion of a 12 member jury who voted 9-3 for the death sentence. Mickel was given five consecutive life sentences. After specific changes to Florida law, which made unanimous jury recommendation mandatory for a death sentence, Hojan was permitted to be resentenced. At the end of his second trial in 2018, Hojan was sentenced to death, again, and this time with a 12-0 unanimous jury recommendation. Hojan is currently on death row.
Read More: Where Is Barbara Nunn Now?
