In jailhouse interview, Beach father admits slaying young son

VIRGINIA BEACH

A father accused of killing his 5-year-old son and wounding his wife inside his home was arraigned this morning in a Virginia Beach court. 

Joseph Henry Hagerman III, 33, said late last night in media interviews that he decapitated his son that morning.

“If I didn’t take my son’s life, he would have lost his eternal salvation,” Hagerman said in an interview with WVEC-TV. “I know it’s a horrible thing.”

"I didn't want him to lose his salvation," Hagerman said. "I wanted him to go fast. I didn't want him to be tortured."

Hagerman, a night security guard for Virginia Beach Public Schools, appeared in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court via closed-circuit TV from jail. He was charged with first degree murder and felonious assault and ordered held without bond.

The public defender’s office was appointed to defend Hagerman, who later obtained his own counsel. A bond hearing Thursday was postponed.

Hagerman served in the Marine Corps as an administrative clerk from June 1994 to November 1997, achieving the rank of corporal and leaving when his contract was up, according to the Marine Corps.

Joshua D. Hagerman was found in the home in The Lakes neighborhood, police spokeswoman Margie Long said. His body was taken to the medical examiner’s office in Norfolk to determine the cause of death. The boy's mother, who is the suspect’s wife, underwent surgery at a hospital for lacerations to her hand. Her injuries were not considered life-threatening, Long said.

The boy was not enrolled in the city's public school system, according to the school division.

Police cordoned off the neighborhood for hours on Tuesday while they investigated the incident. Long did not provide details about what led to the incident in the home, off Riverbend Road.

At 11:22 Tuesday morning, someone at the home, in the 3200 block of Sugar Creek Drive, called 911. When police responded to what was described as a stabbing call, they discovered the boy’s body.

Hagerman, who apparently had run a distance around the corner, was arrested at Riverbend Road and Lynnhaven Parkway. Police said he fought officers who were trying to handcuff him.

Jeff Guill of Chesapeake said he saw the man captured. Guill was driving down Lynnhaven Road, on his way to a business meeting, when he saw a man dart into traffic.

“He literally came within seconds of getting smashed by a dump truck,” Guill said. The man turned around and crossed in front of Guill, who pulled over next to him.

“Hey, are you OK?” Guill said he asked. “Is everything OK?”

Then Guill noticed that the man’s white T-shirt and sweatpants were covered in blood. Guill pulled away quickly.

He heard sirens; then police swept in and had the man in handcuffs within a minute, Guill said.

Hagerman has worked for Virginia Beach schools as a night security guard since August 2001, said schools spokeswoman Nancy Soscia. Hagerman worked a 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. shift, monitoring schools and responding to service calls. He has been suspended without pay.

Relatives of the Hagermans and neighbors declined to comment Tuesday.

A page on the social networking site MySpace that apparently belongs to Hagerman shows his photo and is private. But it does show his “status” - “Jesus Freak in the mood for ice cream" - and a quote: “Schizophrenia can't hold me down, Thank God for Jesus!"

The page is here.

Another MySpace page apparently belonging to his wife says, "God's love never changes.....His love never fails" and has a photo of Joshua.

The page is here.

Pilot writers Lauren Roth, Jim Washington and Lon Wagner contributed to this report.

Duane Bourne, (757) 222-5150, duane.bourne@pilotonline.com

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