Bobby Wayne Woods

Case information

• Defendant: Bobby Wayne Woods
• Execution: Bobby Wayne Woods was executed by lethal injection in Texas on 3 December 2009.
• Victim: Sarah Patterson, 11 years old (kidnapped and murdered)
• Victim (separate count): Cody Patterson, 9 years old (kidnapping and attempted capital murder/injuries)

Timeline

• 4-29-97 — The affidavit stated that Bobby Wayne Woods “entered a habitation owned by Schwana Patterson without her consent to commit theft.”
• 4-30-97 — Woods entered the home of his former girlfriend through an open bedroom window and abducted Sarah and Cody.
• June 4, 1997 — A Hood County grand jury indicted Woods for capital murder in the kidnapping and slaying of Sarah Patterson.
• September 15, 1999 — Woods filed a state writ application in the trial court.
• May 21, 1998 — A jury found Woods guilty.
• May 28, 1998 — The jury returned answers relating to future dangerousness and intent to commit murder, and the Llano County trial court sentenced Woods to death.
• June 14, 2000 — Woods’ conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
• September 13, 2000 — The Court of Criminal Appeals denied Woods’ application for state habeas relief.
• February 20, 2001 — The U.S. Supreme Court denied both Woods’ certiorari petitions (direct appeal and state habeas).
• December 11, 2000 — Woods filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in a federal district court.
• February 8, 2002 — The federal district court denied Woods’ habeas petition.
• February 24, 2003 — The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals partially denied Woods’ request for a certificate of appealability and otherwise affirmed the district court’s judgment.
• April 8, 2003 — Woods filed a subsequent state habeas corpus application in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
• May 21, 2003 — The Court of Criminal Appeals remanded Woods’ case to the trial court for a determination of his Atkins claim.
• April 27, 2005 — The Court of Criminal Appeals adopted the trial court’s findings and denied relief to Woods.
• September 27, 2005 — Woods lodged a successive federal habeas petition in federal district court containing his Atkins claims.
• October 13, 2005 — Woods filed a motion for authorization to file successive habeas in the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
• December 1, 2005 — The Fifth Circuit permitted Woods to file a successive petition containing his Atkins claims.
• May 16, 2006 — The district court denied relief on Woods’ successive petition.
• July 23, 2007 — The Fifth Circuit denied Woods’ request for a COA on his successive habeas petition.
• October 15, 2007 — Woods filed a motion to stay the execution and a writ of prohibition in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
• January 17, 2008 — Woods was set for execution; the date was withdrawn due to a temporary moratorium.
• October 23, 2008 — Woods was scheduled for execution.
• September 10, 2008 — Woods’ state court litigation was dismissed by the Court of Criminal Appeals.
• December 3, 2009 — Woods was pronounced dead after lethal injection.

Background

Bobby Wayne Woods was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murder of 11-year-old Sarah Patterson in Granbury. The case was tried in Llano County due to pre-trial publicity. In later proceedings and reporting, Woods was described as having pleas from his attorneys that he was too mentally impaired to qualify for capital punishment, with IQ testing reported in the 60s to 80s and an IQ of 70 described as the threshold for mental impairment.

The offence

Kidnapping and injuries to Cody Patterson

In the early morning hours of April 30, 1997, Woods forced entry into the home of his ex-girlfriend Schwana Patterson through an open bedroom window and abducted Sarah and Cody Patterson, who were sleeping. Cody testified that he was awakened by Sarah’s screams while Woods beat Sarah with his fists. Woods then ordered both children to crawl out the bedroom window and took them in his car to a cemetery.

At the cemetery, Woods took Cody out of the car, asked him about his mother, hit him, bashed him against a tree, and commenced strangling him in front of the car. Cody later testified he thought he was going to die, awoke some time later, crawled over a fence, and attracted the attention of a horseback rider who called the police.

Cody was later taken to Cooks Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth. Dr. Jan Leah Lamb treated Cody and reported a series of depression fractures to the back of Cody’s skull and severe swelling across the front lobe of his skull. Cody was bruised and had red welts over his entire body, had been beaten badly and stung by ants, and was severely sunburned and dehydrated. Cody had surgery to remove skull fragments from his brain.

Abduction, rape, throat cutting, and murder of Sarah Patterson

After beating and restraining the children at the cemetery, Woods drove Sarah to a secluded area where he raped her and cut her throat, resulting in her death. Woods confessed to the kidnapping and murder and led police to Sarah’s body.

Reporting and trial-related descriptions stated that Sarah’s throat was slit with a knife and that her larynx and several major arteries and veins were severed, causing massive external bleeding that resulted in her death. Sarah’s body was clothed in an inside-out shirt, a sports bra, and a pair of shorts, without panties.

Woods gave police two written statements. In those statements, he admitted to having had sexual contact with Sarah before leaving the house, that he had taken drugs, and that after Cody fell unconscious in the cemetery, Sarah began screaming. Woods stated that he left with Sarah in the car toward a bridge on Highway 144. He attempted to quiet her by holding a knife to her throat; in his statement, Sarah jerked and the knife cut her throat.

Forensic and other evidence described in the case materials included Woods’s semen on Sarah’s bedcover, DNA-related evidence including DNA of the girl’s blood on Woods’s knife and the girl’s blood on his shoe, and Woods’s DNA on Sarah’s panties found in Woods’s car. Additional described evidence included Sarah’s friends’ statements, and notes she left in her diary indicating that she hated Woods and wanted him gone, and that Sarah had contracted Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and Woods was also infected with HPV. When Sarah’s body was found, forensic evidence described larvae development in her traumatized genitals indicating she had been sexually molested shortly before her death.

An additional described item was a large butcher knife stained with Sarah’s blood found inside a trash bag that Woods had borrowed from a neighbor the morning after he abducted Sarah and Cody. The bag also contained a pawn ticket bearing Woods’s signature and address for items he admitted stealing from the Patterson home. Evidence also described scratches on Woods’s face and arms the day after the murder that were not there the day before.

Woods’s accounts to others and trial testimony

Woods blamed Sarah’s death on a cousin who subsequently committed suicide, and he said injuries to Cody were the result of an accident. At trial, Woods testified on his own behalf, admitted the general contours of the morning’s events including the abductions, but did not admit to the murder. Woods claimed the children were “accidentally” injured and testified that he took them to a graveyard where they were “playing,” and that Cody had jumped on his back and was accidentally hurt when Woods stumbled against a fence post.

In one written statement described in the appeal materials, Woods stated:

I WENT INTO THE HOUSE AND GOT THE KIDS FROM THE HOUSE AND LEFT, GOING TO WAL-MART. CODY AND SARAH WERE FIGHTING IN THE CAR.... I REACHED AROUND AND SLAPPED CODY ON HIS ARM. I TURNED AND DROVE TOWARD THE GRAVEYARD. I TOOK CODY OUT OF THE CAR TO TALK TO HIM AND TELL HIM I WAS SORRY FOR HITTING HIM. SARAH SAID SHE WAS GOING TO TELL THEIR MOTHER THAT I HIT CODY. CODY BEGAN TO YELL AT ME AND I HIT CODY TWICE IN THE BACK OF HIS HEAD....

Investigation

Officer Russell Ford responded and arrived at the Patterson home around 6:46 a.m. on April 30, 1997, inspected the residence, and concluded that Cody and Sarah had been abducted after noticing an open window over the bed in the rear bedroom where they had been sleeping. During the day, some witnesses noticed Woods had scratches on his face and right arm. Woods gave at least five different accounts for how the scratches occurred, including that he received the scratches while hauling off brush for Ed Blakeney and that he had been jumped by three guys and run through briars to escape; that he told Ann Fifer he had the shingles; that he told Officer Fred Bauer he was scratched by a pet squirrel; and that at the police station he said it was a cat.

As evidence began to implicate Woods, investigators assembled to interview him. Officers stopped him on Highway 144 and he agreed to follow them to the law enforcement center. Due to inconsistent answers and demeanor during the interview, investigators informed him of his Miranda rights. Woods authorized a search of his vehicle and admitted he had burglarized the Patterson home on April 29, 1997.

The affidavit of Chief Deputy Sheriff Larry Goin was presented to Magistrate Judy B. Watson around 6:04 p.m., stating that Woods confessed to Goin that Woods had stolen a VCR and a Sega video game from the Patterson home. Magistrate Watson issued an arrest warrant and the warrant was executed around 6:30 p.m. on April 30, 1997.

Hank Courtney discovered Cody at 6:40 p.m. and took him to the nearest house where 911 was called. Cody was taken by ambulance to Cooks Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth. Dr. Jan Leah Lamb treated Cody.

Later, at 8:59 a.m. on May 2, 1997, Magistrate Watson issued a warrant authorizing officers to arrest Woods for the attempted capital murder of Cody Patterson.

Arrest

On April 30, 1997, Woods was arrested pursuant to an arrest warrant issued after the affidavit presented to Magistrate Judy B. Watson. The affidavit alleged Woods confessed to stealing a VCR and a Sega video game from the Patterson home. The warrant was executed around 6:30 p.m. on April 30, 1997.

Woods later was arrested and charged with capital murder and was indicted on June 4, 1997, in Hood County, Texas.

Trial

Venue change and plea

On Woods’s motion, venue was changed to Llano County, where he pleaded not guilty.

Attempted capital murder of Cody Patterson and kidnapping conviction

Woods was charged with attempted capital murder. A jury found him guilty and sentenced him to life in prison. The appeal materials describe an argument that evidence was factually and legally insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he kidnapped Cody Patterson, and the appellate court affirmed the conviction.

The trial court found Cody competent to testify after questions were asked by the prosecutor and the trial judge to determine Cody knew the difference between a truth and a lie, and could accurately perceive and articulate events.

The appellate materials also described voir dire issues. After voir dire, the defense requested a jury shuffle outside the jury’s presence, and after the clerk returned with a new list she apologized to the venire panel and stated:

this was Shelly's fault

The trial court instructed the jury in the exact language requested by defense counsel:

you are instructed that the defense or the State has a right to ask for a shuffle. In any event you are instructed not to consider in any way who exercised their right to a jury shuffle.

Capital murder conviction and death sentence for Sarah Patterson

Woods was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murder of Sarah Patterson. The trial court sentenced Woods to death on May 28, 1998, after the jury returned affirmative answers on May 28 on issues relating to Woods’s future dangerousness and intent to commit murder, and a negative answer on the existence of mitigating circumstances to justify a life sentence.

The jury found Woods guilty of capital murder.

The indictment described the capital murder as the murder of Sarah Patterson in the course of committing or attempting to commit the kidnapping of Sarah and Cody Patterson, or in the alternative, the murder of Sarah in the course of committing or attempting to commit aggravated sexual assault of Sarah.

During the punishment phase, the jury was presented with evidence regarding future dangerousness, including toxicology evidence rebutting Woods’s claims that he was under the influence of drugs at the time of the murder, and witnesses regarding Woods’s affinity for knives and his propensity to taunt people with them. Psychiatric testimony described Woods as having an antisocial personality disorder, and when combined with violent tendencies, he was presented as posing a continuing threat to commit future criminal violence.

Photographs

The appeal materials described disputes about the admission of photographs of Cody Patterson. The trial court admitted State’s exhibit number 34, a color photograph depicting injuries to the back of Cody’s head, and the appellate court concluded it was not so horrifying or appalling as to prevent rational decision-making after viewing it and that it was more probative than prejudicial. The appeal also described that Appellant failed to preserve error as to State’s exhibit number 35.

Evidence and diary entries

Sarah’s diary was admitted into evidence at Woods’s punishment hearing. The diary entries included:

Dear Diary. Guess what? Bobby moved out and we are so, so, so, so happy.

and:

I don't like Cody, and I hate Bobby.

The materials also described that Sarah wrote that she contracted HPV from Bobby.

Sentencing

On May 28, 1998, the Llano County trial court sentenced Woods to death for the capital murder of Sarah Patterson after the jury returned affirmative answers on future dangerousness and intent to commit murder and a negative answer on mitigating circumstances to justify life imprisonment.

The materials also described that Woods received a life sentence for attempted capital murder in the injuring of Cody Patterson.

Appeals

Direct appeal and state habeas

Woods’s conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on June 14, 2000.

Woods’s application for state habeas relief was denied by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on September 13, 2000.

U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court denied both of Woods’s certiorari petitions on February 20, 2001, covering the direct appeal and state habeas.

Federal habeas

Woods filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in a federal district court on December 11, 2000. The district court denied the habeas petition on February 8, 2002.

On February 24, 2003, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals partially denied Woods’s request for a certificate of appealability and otherwise affirmed the district court’s judgment. Woods did not seek certiorari review of this decision.

Woods lodged a successive federal habeas petition on September 27, 2005 containing his Atkins claims. On October 13, 2005, Woods filed a motion for authorization to file successive habeas in the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. On December 1, 2005, the Fifth Circuit permitted Woods to file a successive petition containing his Atkins claims. On May 16, 2006, the district court denied relief on Woods’s successive petition. On July 23, 2007, the Fifth Circuit denied Woods’s request for a COA on his successive habeas petition.

Subsequent state habeas and Atkins claim

On April 8, 2003, Woods filed a subsequent state habeas corpus application in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

On May 21, 2003, the Court of Criminal Appeals remanded the case to the trial court for a determination of his Atkins claim.

On April 27, 2005, the Court of Criminal Appeals adopted the trial court’s findings and denied relief to Woods.

Stay and dismissal

On October 15, 2007, Woods filed a motion to stay the execution and a writ of prohibition in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

On September 10, 2008, Woods’s state court litigation was dismissed by the Court of Criminal Appeals.

Outcome

Bobby Wayne Woods was scheduled for execution on October 23, 2008.

Bobby Wayne Woods was executed by lethal injection on 3 December 2009 in Huntsville, Texas.

Aftermath

At the execution, when asked by a warden if Woods had a final statement, Woods lifted his head from the pillow on the death chamber gurney and replied:

Bye. I'm ready.

Woods was pronounced dead at 6:40 p.m. Eight minutes after that statement, he was pronounced dead following the start of the lethal injection.

Other details

Mental impairment litigation and expert descriptions

Woods’s attorneys argued that he was mentally impaired and ineligible for capital punishment. Tests administered to Woods were described as putting his IQ anywhere from the 60s to the 80s, with an IQ of 70 described as the threshold for mental impairment.

Richard Hattox, the former Hood County district attorney who prosecuted Woods, stated:

There was no history of mental retardation. There were no special education classes ever afforded him. He graduated on time, wasn't held back in any grades. He was functional. He had a driver's license.

A prison psychologist testified that Woods’s IQ was 83 and that there was no history of mental health treatment. Testimony also showed that Woods had checked out over 100 books from the prison library.

In the Atkins-related litigation, the appeals court decided in an 8-1 vote that additional evidence supported the trial court’s finding that Woods was not retarded.

Additional reported accounts about conflict and statements

Larry Patterson watched Woods die and stated:

I'm not a person that likes harm done to anybody, but I believe in justice being done,
She had no choice. She didn't get a second chance.

In an Associated Press interview from death row, Woods said:

Woods also blamed Sarah’s murder on a cousin who subsequently committed suicide and said injuries to her brother were the result of an accident. He said:

We went walking around graveyards, horsing around by a fence,
Cody jumped on my back and hit a fence post.
I guess I panicked.

Woods’s letters and statements

Woods wrote about pen pal requests and his physical preferences. He stated in a handwritten letter that he was “5,8 tall” and “188 pounds,” with blonde hair, and he said:

I have got blonde hair - I like to go camping, fishing and swimming and I like to cook, working out - I can do 3000 push up without stopping, I can do it in 30 minutes, I can do 2000 sit up with stopping and do pull ups, run and I like doing the weight-bar too.

He identified his mother as Doris and his grandmother as Ruby Woods and wrote:

What am I looking for is a pen pal.

He wrote:

I would like to tell my story but I can not spell all the big words and sometimes when I write something it does not come out right.

In another letter dated February 20, 2004, Woods wrote that he believed the evidence was wrong, and he stated:

Jody killed himself 27 days later, he killed her, not me.

In the same letter, Woods also asserted:

I had a handwritten confession.

Woods further wrote that the pillow/blanket evidence was not as described and wrote:

The blanket they have was not the kid's, it was mine and hers but D.A. said it was the kid's.

In the February 20, 2004 letter, Woods wrote about marriage:

At trial they said we did not get married but we did. My mom was there, she was there when we got married and we got the marriage license in Grandbury.

Woods also wrote about mental retardation and IQ:

Now I have the mental retardation do you knew about that they can kill anyone that mental retarded. My IQ was 66 at trail but they trying to say it 70.

Written accounts of the attempt to blame others

Woods claimed that handwriting confession evidence was excluded at trial, that he believed paperwork was filed late by counsel, and that the Court of Criminal Appeals sent his case back to state court on mental retardation. In the February 20, 2004 letter, Woods wrote:

There are a lot more things I have to say .....