Albert Troy Hale biography: 10 things about US Navy veteran from Choctaw, Arkansas

Who was Albert Troy Hale?

Albert Troy “Al” Hale was a United States Navy veteran from Choctaw, Van Buren County, Arkansas, United States. He was a shriner with The India Temple.

Born in Arkansas to Rollie Scoby Hale and Doris Dean Goff Hale, Al has three brothers namely Sherman Hale, Bill Hale and Gene Hale. Also also has three sons namely Ronald Alan “Ron” Hale, Steve Hale and Mitchell Hale, one daughter named Patti Carey and nine grandchildren namely Mike Hale, Matt Hale, Tonya Couch, Tina DeLuca, Nick Graziano, Michael Graziano, Micah Hale, Lucas Hale and Michael Hale.

According to Al’s family and friends, he kept a large amount of cash at his home in Choctaw. Here are 10 more things about him:

1. On April 19, 1941, his grandmother Carrie Lobdell Goff died in Woolsey, Washington County, Arkansas at age 70.
2. On July 1, 1946, Hazel Clutter Hale gave birth to their son Ron.
3. On April 12, 1951, his grandfather Albert Maywood Goff died in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at age 79.
4. In 1958, he moved to Choctaw.
5. On July 4, 1966, his son Ron married Sharon K. Goodwin Hale.
6. On July 15, 1966, his father died age 65 and was buried in Del City, Oklahoma.
7. On April 12, 1990, his mother died in Midwest, Oklahoma at age 86.
8. On March 13, 1996, he turned 73.
9. On March 5, 1997, he was transported first to Midwest City Hospital in Midwest City, Oklahoma and then to Presbyterian Hospital in Oklahoma City.  
10. On March 6, 1997, he died at Presbyterian Hospital from blunt force head trauma. He was buried in Choctaw.

Who killed Albert Troy Hale?

Al had owned the Choctaw Restaurant in Choctaw numerous times. He and James Allen Coddington worked together at Honda Auto Parts in Choctaw for about three years.

On March 5, 1997, Coddington, then 24 and high on cocaine, went to Al’s house in Choctaw to borrow $50 to buy more drugs. While Al had over $24,000 stashed in his closet that day, he refused and told Coddington to get treatment.

Before leaving, Coddington grabbed a hammer off a dishwasher in the kitchen, hit Al in the head five times and took $525 out of Al’s front pants pocket. In the evening, Ron found Al lying in his bed, soaked in blood and still breathing but unable to speak.

In August 2003, Coddington was sentenced to death. On August 25, 2022, he was executed at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma, Oklahoma.