When investigators searched a truck belonging to 33-year-old Nace Eugene Houchin in September, they found a handwritten note tucked into his wallet.
That note, according to James City County Police, featured a confession from Houchin to the murder of Dana Patterson Mackay, who was found dead in July from blunt force and sharp force trauma to the head, according to a criminal complaint filed against Houchin in Williamsburg-James City County District Court.
The note was sent to Virginia’s Department of Forensic Science, where fingerprints on the note were identified as belonging to Houchin. A handwriting analysis of the note found Houchin “more than likely” wrote the letter, according to the complaint.
Houchin was charged Nov. 15 with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in connection to Mackay’s death. He is the third person to be charged in connection to her death. He joins his wife, Nicole Houchin, and Mackay’s husband, John Mackay, both of whom also face homicide charges.
Nace Houchin was already in custody after he was arrested Sept. 19. A separate criminal complaint alleges he stole a grey Chevy Colorado pickup truck belonging to a Gloucester County man. Investigators found Nace Houchin’s Dodge pickup truck, where the alleged note was found, in Gloucester County on Sept. 17.
A James City County Police officer on patrol on Pocahontas Trail saw the truck pulling out of the Grove 7-Eleven at 7667 Pocahontas Trail, causing him to run the plates through his computer system. The system said the license plates on the truck were reported stolen out of Newport News.
The officer then initiated a traffic stop. He wrote in the criminal complaint that he asked the driver of the truck for identification, but the man, later identified as Nace Houchin, said he did not have any. The officer said Nace Houchin told him a friend owned the truck, which had been reported stolen out of Gloucester County on Sept. 18.
According to the complaint, Nace Houchin then said he was not going to tell the officer anything. The officer then arrested Nace Houchin, placing him in the backseat of his patrol car. While back there, he moved the handcuffs to the front of his body and scratched the rear right window of the car. He then grabbed a small electronic wire connected to an unidentified piece of equipment and pulled it apart. The complaint said he caused less than $1,000 in damage.
For that incident, Nace Houchin was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of stolen license plates and destruction of property. He also faces a charge of military desertion from Fort Eustis, where he was stationed along with John Mackay.
Nace Houchin’s arrest comes just days after a preliminary hearing for John Mackay. During that hearing, James City County Police investigator Jason Shadrix testified their investigation had revealed conversations between John Mackay, Nicole Houchin, Nace Houchin and potentially another man about killing Dana Mackay. During those conversations, Nace Houchin is alleged to have agreed to kill Dana Mackay for $20,000.
Police were able to draw on an extensive body of text messages and emails between the Houchins and John Mackay during their investigation. Investigators also had a conversation with John Mackay on the day of his arrest. During that talk, police say John Mackay told them he and Nicole Houchin, with whom he was having an affair, fantasized about the death of Dana Mackay so they could be together.
In the emails, John Mackay and Nicole Houchin discussed a plan and questioned when Dana Mackay would be “gone,” according to a criminal complaint. According to Shadrix’s testimony, John Mackay told police he was in New York when Dana Mackay died.
During his talk with police, John Mackay told them he called Nicole Houchin on July 27, the day Dana Mackay’s body was found by a neighbor in the bedroom of the home she shared with John Mackay in the Seasons Trace neighborhood of James City County. John Mackay told police Nicole Houchin said in that phonecall “it’s done” and “there was a lot of screaming” but that she was not in the room when Dana Mackay was killed. She also told him “they” had to force the door open to get into the bedroom.
Maj. Stephen Rubino of the James City County Police Department told WYDaily on Friday the investigation into Dana Mackay’s death is ongoing. The fourth person mentioned during Shadrix’s testimony has not been charged.
John Mackay and Nicole Houchin were both charged July 29. The affair between them began around the beginning of March, when the two of them began working together. A criminal complaint filed against Nicole Houchin stated she worked at the Auto Zone near the corner of Second Street and Merrimac Trail in York County. It’s unclear if that’s the place where the two are alleged to have met.
Nace Houchin will appear in court at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 12 for the murder and conspiracy to commit murder charges. He will then appear again at 10:30 a.m. that day for the charges connected to the theft of the vehicle and license plates. Nicole Houchin will have her preliminary hearing at 2 p.m. Jan. 7. John Mackay, who has already had his preliminary hearing, is scheduled to be arraigned in Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court at 9 a.m. Jan. 15.
Related Coverage:
- Third Person Charged in Seasons Trace Homicide
- Police: Seasons Trace Murder Suspects May Have Had Help
- Court Documents: Online Chats Reveal Plot by Husband, His Girlfriend to Kill JCC Woman
- Duo Accused in Seasons Trace Killing Receive Court-Appointed Lawyers
- Police: Victim’s Husband, His Girlfriend Charged in Seasons Trace Homicide
- JCC Police Investigating Seasons Trace Homicide
