Frederick Wood

People

• Frederick Wood — convicted murderer; parolee who confessed to the Astoria murders
• Frederick Sess — deceased elderly Astoria man; found dead with his throat cut
• John Rescigno — deceased elderly Astoria man; found dead with his head bashed in
• John E. Lowman — victim of Wood’s 1942 murder in Elmira
• Michael Newton — listed in the case material as “An Encyclopedia of Modern Serial Killers - Hunting Humans”

Timeline

• June 1960 — Wood was paroled after serving 17 years of a 20-years-to-life sentence for the murder of John E. Lowman in Elmira in 1942
• July 1960 — “2 Men Murdered In July 1960”
• July 6 — the Star-Journal reported that Frederick Wood, a convicted murderer paroled only a month earlier and then arrested in Manhattan for parole violation, had confessed to the Astoria murders
• July 26 — Wood was arraigned on first-degree murder charges

Background

As the Independence Day holiday came to an end, Frederick Sess and John Rescigno were found dead in the beer bottle-littered basement apartment they shared on Hoyt Avenue in Astoria. One man had his throat cut, and the other had his head bashed in. Two macabre notes were found there.

The offence

Astoria murders

The shared basement apartment on Hoyt Avenue contained two notes:

• One note said: “How do you like these two murders? O-O-O. I’m sorry.”
• The other note said: “The people in the parole board are intel eat”(intelligent?).

The case was listed as a possible homicide or murder-suicide.

1942 murder of John E. Lowman in Elmira

Wood had previously been sentenced for the murder of John E. Lowman in Elmira in 1942. Wood bashed in Lowman’s head with a broken bottle, mutilated the body with a knife, and then tried to hide the remains under a divan in the home of his girlfriend, where the attack occurred.

Authorities linked the Astoria murders to Wood because of similarities between Wood’s crime and the Astoria murders.

Investigation

Authorities considered the case as potentially homicide or murder-suicide. Similarities between Wood’s earlier crime and the Astoria murders led authorities to treat Frederick Wood as a suspect.

Arrest

Wood had been paroled only a month earlier and then was arrested in Manhattan for parole violation. On July 6, the Star-Journal reported that Wood confessed to the Astoria murders.

Trial

Wood was arraigned on first-degree murder charges on July 26.

Sentencing

• Wood was sentenced to 20-years-to-life in 1943.
• Wood was paroled in June 1960.
• Wood was sentenced to death in 1962.
• Wood was executed by electrocution at Sing Sing Prison on March 21, 1963.

Disposition details stated in the case material

• Life term on one count, 1942 (paroled 1960)
• Condemned on two counts, 1962 (executed by electrocution, 1963)

Appeals

No appellate history was stated in the provided case material.

Outcome

Frederick Wood confessed to the Astoria murders following similarities between his earlier crime and the killings in Astoria.

Aftermath

Parole handling and policy response

The question “Why was Frederick Wood paroled?” was addressed in the case material through actions and admissions by state officials.

• Governor Nelson Rockefeller ordered the state Parole Board Chairman Russell G. Oswald to submit a complete report on the handling of Wood’s case.
• Russell G. Oswald admitted:

  “I guess you’d just have to say we made a mistake on this one. I say that with a lot of heartbreak.”

The state Parole Board put a temporary ban on parole for prisoners convicted of homicide or serious sex crimes until parole procedures could be revised.

Other details

• Wood’s sex and race and type and motive and method information were included as: “SEX: M RACE: W TYPE: T MOTIVE: PC MO: Beat male victims to death in personal confrontations.”
• The case material included “SEX: M RACE: W TYPE: T MOTIVE: PC MO: Beat male victims to death in personal confrontations.”
• The case material listed: “Michael Newton - An Encyclopedia of Modern Serial Killers - Hunting Humans home last updates contact.”