Luke Woodham

Case overview

Luke Woodham (born February 5, 1981) was a convicted American murderer. He was a former resident of Pearl, Mississippi and, in 1997, killed three people, including his own mother, and wounded seven.

Timeline

• 1 October 1997 — Luke Woodham fatally stabbed and bludgeoned his sleeping mother, Mary Woodham, then drove to Pearl High School and shot students, killing Christina Menefee and Lydia Dew and wounding seven others.
• 8 October 1997 — Grant Boyette, Delbert Shaw, Donald Brooks, Wesley Brownell, Daniel Thompson and Justin Sledge were arrested in suspicion of conspiring with Woodham to commit the shooting.
• June 5, 1998 — A court sentenced Woodham to life in prison for stabbing and beating his mother to death.
• June 12, 1998 — A Mississippi jury rejected the insanity defense and found Woodham guilty of two counts of murder and seven counts of aggravated assault for the Pearl High School shooting spree.
• June 13, 1998 — Woodham received two life sentences for the murders and seven 20-year sentences for his attempted murder convictions.

The offence

Murder of Mary Woodham

On the morning of October 1, 1997, Luke Woodham fatally stabbed and bludgeoned his sleeping mother, Mary Woodham. At trial, Woodham claimed that he did not remember killing his mother.

Mary Woodham was 50 years old. She was beaten and stabbed.

Shooting at Pearl High School

On October 1, 1997, Woodham drove his mother’s car to his high school. He wore a long coat to hide his rifle. When he entered the school, he began firing at students.

Woodham killed his ex-girlfriend Christina Menefee and her friend Lydia Dew and wounded seven others. Assistant principal Joel Myrick retrieved a .45 pistol from the glove compartment of his truck and subdued Woodham inside his mother’s car. The Pearl High School assistant band director, Jeff Cannon, was standing five feet away from Dew when she was fatally shot.

Woodham left after the shooting, intending to drive off campus and conduct another shooting at the nearby Pearl Junior High School.

When assistant principal Joel Myrick asked Woodham about his motive, Woodham replied, “Life has wronged me, sir”.

Woodham gave the following message to a friend minutes before he started the shooting:

“I am not insane, I am angry. I killed because people like me are mistreated every day. I did this to show society, push us and we will push back. ... All throughout my life, I was ridiculed, always beaten, always hated. Can you, society, truly blame me for what I do? Yes, you will. ... It was not a cry for attention, it was not a cry for help. It was a scream in sheer agony saying that if you can't pry your eyes open, if I can't do it through pacifism, if I can't show you through the displaying of intelligence, then I will do it with a bullet.”

During his trial, Woodham confessed to shooting his classmates, but again claimed that he did not remember killing his mother.

A separate account described Woodham as wearing an orange jumpsuit and a trenchcoat. In that version, he made no attempt to hide his rifle and walked into a crowded atrium with hundreds of students milling about and started blasting “anybody he could find.”

Assistant principal Joel Myrick described the incident to the court and testified that he waited until Woodham exited the school and went to his car. Myrick then approached, told Woodham to drop his weapon and exit the car, searched him for other weapons, and asked why he had gone on his shooting rampage. Woodham allegedly told Myrick:

“Mr. Myrick, the world has wronged me,”
“And I just can't take it anymore.”

The same account stated that Woodham reminded Myrick that he had given the assistant principal a discount on his pizza a few nights earlier. Woodham worked in a pizza restaurant.

Witness testimony included that Woodham apologized to at least one of the wounded and said he was sorry and was not shooting anybody in particular. One officer testified that Woodham appeared “excited,” as if he had just won a fight after the shooting. That officer said Woodham stated he was tired of being called a “fat motherf___er” when asked why he had fired upon his fellow students.

One officer also revealed that Woodham allegedly said he intended to kill a student named Alan Westbrook, who apparently liked to tease the defendant.

Investigation

Grant Boyette, Delbert Shaw, Donald Brooks, Wesley Brownell, Daniel Thompson and Justin Sledge were arrested on October 8, 1997, in suspicion of conspiring with Woodham to commit the shooting.

Conspiracy charges were filed against Delbert Shaw, Donald Brooks, Wesley Brownell, Daniel Thompson, Grant Boyette and Justin Sledge, accusing them of taking part in a conspiracy to assist Woodham in the murders.

Authorities said a demonic cult known as “Kroth” had plotted the violence with enthusiasm and that Woodham was chosen as the assassin.

A school official said:

“There's all kinds of rumors flying around. There are some things in this that could be considered satanic, but to jump out there to say it is satanic, that they are devil-worshippers, is jumping to conclusions.”

The indictment against the six teens alleged that Boyette and Sledge met several times with Woodham to convince him “that murder was a viable means of accomplishing the purposes and goals of the shared belief system.”

Authorities believed investigators uncovered information that Woodham was targeting his 17-year-old son, Kyle, for the “shock value” of killing the son of a prominent local person; Pearl Mayor Jimmy Foster said this.

Police confirmed reports that Woodham had been bullied at school, with classmates calling him “nerd” and knocking books from his hands.

A note released at a preliminary hearing for Grant Boyette included Woodham’s writings describing how he and an accomplice beat his dog, Sparkle, then set it on fire and threw it in a pond. Woodham wrote:

“I'll never forget the sound of her breaking under my might. I hit her so hard I knocked the fur off her neck ... it was true beauty,”

Religious involvment and alleged cult connection

Woodham claimed he had gotten ideas of committing the murders by being involved with a Satanic cult. He admitted to being a Satanist and claimed that a friend, Grant Boyette, invited him to join a Satanic group known as “The Kroth”.

Woodham said Boyette told him he had “potential to do something great.” Woodham said Boyette promised that Woodham could get his ex-girlfriend back or get even through black magic.

After his conviction, Woodham converted to Christianity and said the following in a letter written to evangelical minister David Wilkerson:

“David, I receive your sermons through the mail. I am one of the school shooters. I’m the one they blame for starting it all off. On October 1, 1997, I went into Pearl High School and killed two students and wounded seven. I also killed my mother before this. After I came to jail I got saved. If there is any way that I can help your ministry, I would love to. Maybe I could give you my testimony. I’ll do anything to help. I look forward to your sermons each month.”

At trial for the shooting, Woodham testified about demons. He said he was haunted by demons and that he and an older friend had conjured spells with demons. He said he believed that he could send demons to carry out acts and described feeling a sense of power with demons, stating he had witnessed the power of demons and seen them act.

Woodham testified he believed he was under the spell of “100,000 demons” conjured by Grant Boyette the morning he plunged a butcher knife into his mother.

During cross-examination, Woodham admitted that his desire for revenge against his ex-girlfriend outweighed Boyette’s influence. When asked why he did Boyette’s bidding, he replied: “acceptance.”

In testimony during his trial for the shooting, Woodham stated revenge against Menefee was the primary motivating factor behind the school shootings.

Arrest and charges

Authorities charged multiple individuals with conspiracy to assist Woodham in the murders, including Delbert Shaw, Donald Brooks, Wesley Brownell, Daniel Thompson, Grant Boyette and Justin Sledge.

Grant Boyette and Justin Sledge were described as still facing two counts each of being an accessory to commit murder.

Trial

Mother murder trial

There were separate trials for the murder of Woodham’s mother and the school shooting.

Woodham’s lawyer argued at both trials that Woodham was insane at the time of the killings. Jurors rejected Woodham’s insanity defense at his first trial for the murder of his mother.

Woodham was sentenced to life in prison for that killing on June 5, 1998.

During the June, 1998, trial for matricide, Woodham wept as he watched himself on video saying he killed his mother because “She always never loved me.” The same trial description included that Woodham said his mother blamed him for her divorce and problems with his brother, and that she often spent nights away from home. Woodham said:

“I didn't want to kill my mother. I do love my mother. I just wanted her to understand,”

During questioning, Woodham said he recalled getting a knife and a pillow and walking to his mother’s room. He said he could hear Boyette’s voice in his head throughout the process:

“I just closed my eyes and fought with myself because I didn't want to do any of it. When I opened my eyes, my mother was lying in her bed.”

School shooting trial

A Mississippi jury rejected the insanity defense and found Woodham guilty of two counts of murder and seven counts of aggravated assault for the Pearl High School shooting spree.

Jurors deliberated about five hours before returning their verdict.

After being sentenced for the murder and aggravated assault convictions, Woodham spoke briefly:

“I am sorry for the people I killed and hurt. The reason you see no tears anymore is because I've been forgiven by God,”
“If they could have given the death penalty in this case, I deserve it.”

A jury also convicted Woodham of murdering his mother, 50-year-old Mary Woodham, and sentenced him to life in prison for that killing, with prosecutors saying it happened several hours before the attack at Pearl High.

Video confession and statements

The prosecution rested its case by closing with a videotaped confession the teen gave less than an hour after the shootings.

On the tape, Woodham told police:

“I'm not insane. I knew what I was doing,”
“It's been building up for some time now, and no one at school likes me...The world is going to hear from me now. I'm probably going to be very famous.”

The video included that he still loved his ex-girlfriend and had wanted to kill her previously but thought it was not the “right thing to do.”

After a court resumed, Woodham took the stand against the advice of his attorneys and told the court that his rampage was driven by his anger over the breakup with his girlfriend, Christina Menefee.

In testimony, he said:

“I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep...I didn't want to live,”
“It just wasn't fair. She [Christina] didn't love me.”

He also spoke about demons and spells and described being able to send demons to carry out acts.

Defence and expert testimony

Woodham’s defence attempted to prove that Woodham was insane through testimony of a forensic psychologist, Dr. Michael Jepsen. Jepsen testified that Woodham suffered from a personality disorder and that despite his confession, he was insane and not aware of his actions at the time of the shooting. The description stated that this defence failed during the trial for his mother’s murder.

The defence called Grant Boyette, leader of Woodham’s cult group “The Kroth,” but Boyette took the Fifth Amendment because he still faced murder conspiracy charges in his own upcoming trial.

Prosecutors put mental health experts on the stand during a brief rebuttal case. One forensic psychiatrist testified that Woodham likely had a personality disorder but did not seem to suffer from any form of psychosis. Another psychologist testified for prosecutors that, during an exam of Woodham, the teenager appeared to have no psychotic tendencies, seemed coherent, and had a high average intelligence.

Witness testimony and other court remarks

Witness testimony included the following:

• Assistant principal Joel Myrick testified about retrieving and loading a handgun and then subduing Woodham after he ran the car into a tree.
• A student testified that Woodham approached Justin Sledge and whispered in his ear shortly before the incident, after which Sledge told him not to look behind him.
• Jerry Safeway testified that he dove to protect his girlfriend and was shot, that Woodham apologized and said he did not mean to hit him, and that Woodham reloaded his rifle.
• A friend of Christina Menefee testified about Woodham’s alleged obsession and about his anger when she hung out with her girlfriends, and she broke down when asked to identify Woodham and the rifle.

Court proceedings also included reporting that Woodham carried a Bible with him to court during his trial and found religion during his time in prison.

Sentencing

Mother murder sentencing

After rejecting the insanity defence, Woodham was sentenced to life in prison on June 5, 1998 for the murder of his mother.

The status also stated that he was sentenced to life in prison on June 5, 1998 for the murder of his mother.

Woodham said as he was led out of the courthouse:

“I'm going to heaven now,”

School shooting sentencing

Woodham was found guilty of the two murders and seven counts of aggravated assault at his second trial.

He was given two life sentences for the murders and seven 20-year sentences for his attempted murder convictions.

After being sentenced, Woodham apologized to the families of victims he wounded and killed. He said:

“I am so sorry. I am so sorry,”
and also: “Nothing can justify the taking of those two lives.”

Appeals

No appeals were described.

Outcome

Woodham was convicted and sentenced in connection with:

• the murder of his mother, Mary Woodham;
• the killings of Christina Menefee and Lydia Dew and the wounding of seven others during the Pearl High School shooting spree.

His status included that he was currently serving life in prison and described that he was serving 3 life terms plus an additional 140 years in prison.

Aftermath and incarceration

Woodham was removed from the Forrest County Jail in Hattiesburg less than three days after his last conviction.

On June 15, 1998, he entered the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) system in the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF) in Rankin County.

While at CMCF, Woodham underwent evaluation for assignment to a permanent facility. Several weeks later, he was moved into the Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP) in Sunflower County.

As of 2010, Woodham was incarcerated in Unit 29 of MSP as MDOC #R4682, and his location last changed on June 17, 2010.

Grant Boyette and Justin Sledge still faced two counts each of being an accessory to commit murder.

Boyette was convicted and sentenced to the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman boot camp for six months and five years of supervised probation.

Justin Sledge was sentenced to serve four months in reform school.

Woodham was described as ineligible for parole until 2046, when he was 65 years old.

Other details

Additional names, roles, and victims mentioned

• Christina Menefee — ex-girlfriend; killed in the Pearl High School shooting.
• Lydia Dew — killed in the Pearl High School shooting.
• Jeff Cannon — Pearl High School assistant band director; was standing five feet away from Dew when Dew was shot.
• Joel Myrick — Pearl High School assistant principal; retrieved a .45 pistol and subdued Woodham.
• Mary Woodham — Woodham’s mother; 50 years old; beaten and stabbed.
• Alan Westbrook — named in testimony as a student Woodham allegedly intended to kill.
• Kyle — Woodham’s 17-year-old son targeted for “shock value,” as described by Pearl Mayor Jimmy Foster.
• David Wilkerson — evangelical minister to whom Woodham wrote a letter after converting to Christianity.
• Prosecutor John Kitchens — mentioned in connection with decisions about stipulations and with conspiracy law difficulty.
• Judge Robert Goza — mentioned in connection with dropping conspiracy charges against Shaw, Brooks, and Brownell.
• Lesie Roussell — named as Woodham’s attorney who attempted to stipulate the gun and shooting.
• Judge Samac Richardson — named as the judge who immediately sentenced Woodham after the school-shooting verdict.
• Helen Lucaitis and Laura Citrin — named as reporters.

Justice and conspiracy proceedings mentioned

The charges against Shaw, Brooks, and Brownell were dropped by Judge Robert Goza at the request of District Attorney John Kitchens, who said Mississippi’s conspiracy law would make proving the accusations difficult.

The case of Daniel Thompson was transferred to Youth Court because he was 15 years old at the time.

Additional quotations about remorse and responsibility

Woodham was reported to have said:

“I am sorry for the people I killed and the people I hurt,”
and: “The reason you don't see any more tears is I have been forgiven by God,”
and: “sick and evil. If they could have given the death penalty in this case, I deserve it.”

Woodham testified that he blamed his rampage on Grant Boyette’s influence and also described that he conceded revenge against Christina Menefee as the primary motive.