 After his father's death, he returned in 1803 to the British Virgin Islands to assume control of the family's plantation Belle Vue in Tortola.In 1811, Hodge was indicted for the murder of a single male slave, part of his estate, named Prosper.Restrictions on similar fact evidence were relatively casual in colonial courts, and much of the evidence seems to have focused upon acts of cruelty by Hodge towards slaves other than Prosper.