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Nationwide search for murder suspect continues
By Justin Goble
Despite finding his abandoned car, authorities throughout the nation are still on the lookout for local murder suspect John “Woody” Woodring.
Woodring is on the run after he shot and killed estranged wife Bonnie Woodring at Sylva’s REACH battered women’s shelter around 9:10 p.m. Sept. 18. He escaped in a blue 2006 Honda Civic that was stolen from a neighbor on Kitchens Branch Road.
Authorites believe Wood-ring stole the 12-gauge shotgun used in the murder from the same residence.
Sylva Police Chief Jeff Jamison said an off-duty sheriff’s deputy found the Honda behind a Greyhound bus depot in Knoxville, Tenn. Monday night (Sept. 25). Though unsure of how long the car had been abandoned, Jamison said it had been there for a while.
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Sylva Assistant Police Chief Tammy Hooper, left, and police officer Aimee Sumner search a Chevrolet Corvette belonging to murder suspect John “Woody” Woodring Thursday (Sept. 21) at the Justice Center. While that search turned up no leads to Woodring’s whereabouts, Knoxville, Tenn., authorities this week located the stolen blue Honda Civic Woodring used to flee the state abandoned behind a Greyhound bus terminal. Investigators are searching the Honda for clues to Woodring’s current location. Law enforcement officials throughout the nation, along with the television show “America’s Most Wanted,” are aiding in the hunt for Woodring, who is wanted for shooting and killing wife Bonnie Woodring at Sylva’s REACH battered women’s shelter Sept. 18. – Herald photo by Nick Breedlove.
Police are hoping the automobile will give some clues to Woodring’s whereabouts, Jamison said.
“We had investigators on the scene (Tuesday morning), and we’re looking for any potential leads,” Jamison said. “The car will be brought back to the State Bureau of Investigation lab in Asheville.”
Investigators are also checking terminal surveillance videos, bus routes and ticket sales to see if and where Woodring took a bus.
Police in Illinois were looking for Woodring last week after a truck driver noticed a similar car with a North Carolina license tag.
Though it looks as if there is nothing to that lead, Jamison said he couldn’t count out any information at this point.
“We don’t know the mileage on the car or anything like that yet, so we can’t tell where he’s been,” Jamison said.
At the request of the Sylva Police Department, “America’s Most Wanted” has also joined in the hunt. Jamison said crews have been filming in town throughout the week, and a profile of the suspect is already up on the show’s Web site, www.amw.com.
To date, America’s Most Wanted has helped capture 906 fugitives. Their television profile of Woodring will air Saturday night at 9 p.m. on the Fox network, Jamison said.
“That will be a big help, since there will be more eyes out there looking for him,” Jamison said.
The manhunt for Woodring started last Tuesday morning (Sept. 19), with police searching Skyland Drive and the surrounding areas. When those searches proved fruitless, U.S. Marshals and the FBI were contacted, since many leads pointed to other states.
Sylva police officers, aided by agents from the SBI, searched Woodring’s black Chevrolet Corvette Thursday afternoon (Sept. 21) in the impound lot at the Justice Center. According to Jackson County Sheriff Jimmy Ashe, the search turned up no leads.
“We found a laptop computer, but there was nothing of significance on it,” Ashe said. “We also found an abundance of letters, but they didn’t tell us anything. They were just part of his habit of being ‘pen pals’ with notorious criminals.”
Woodring is the author of “The Convict Speaks,” a book exploring why people commit crimes that he marketed through a Web site he and Bonnie Woodring operated to sell photographs.
According to a March 2005 Sylva Herald story, John Wood-ring said he became interested in the criminal mind after serving time himself.
After being discharged from the Marine Corps, Wood-ring said he had an unstable life. Settling in Webster, he was convicted of drunk driving and assault. He was also convicted in federal court for trespassing at a women’s shelter on the Cherokee Indian Reservation.
His curiosity led him to correspond with many famous criminals, including David Berkowitz (also known as the “Son of Sam”), Winston-Salem’s “Dungeons and Dragons” murderer, and convicted Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph.
“When I was in jail, I got curious about why people do the things they do,” he told The Herald. “I wanted to know what the real story was, without the Hollywood spin on it. There’s always a few people out there who are wired wrong, but most of the people I talked to had rough childhoods.”
Search warrants on file at the Jackson County Clerk of Court’s office indicate John Woodring was identified by Jeffrey Mertz, Bonnie Wood-ring’s son from a previous marriage, who was staying with his mother at the REACH shelter.
Though he was not in the room when his mother was shot, Mertz told authorities he overheard a voice tell Bonnie Woodring, “You don’t wanna die, but you’re gonna.” Mertz identified the voice as that of his stepfather, John Woodring.
The search warrant also states printed directions to the REACH shelter were found in a trash can at Woodring’s house.
Bonnie Woodring had moved into the shelter with Mertz five days before the shooting. Court papers state she had moved out of the home she shared with John Woodring Sept. 13 because of the abusive relationship. When she returned to their home the night of Sept. 14 to pick up some clothes, she was strangled by her husband, who had been waiting at the house, the papers state.
A warrant for Woodring’s arrest was taken out that night, and law enforcement officers spent the weekend searching for him.
“We found out he was staying at another residence,” Ashe said. “We spotted his vehicle, but when we were about to move in he escaped on foot. He moved from place to place, maybe even from county to county.”
Court documents also show Bonnie Woodring sought a restraining order against her husband in June, but that request was denied. According to the report, she had failed to provide enough proof of abuse to qualify for a Domestic Violence Protective Order.
Woodring was last seen wearing a dark green shirt and khaki shorts. He is a white male with blonde hair and blue eyes, weighing 190 pounds and standing 5 feet 9 inches. He should be considered armed and extremely dangerous, law enforcement say.
An unspecified reward is being offered for any informations leading to Woodring’s arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sylva Police Department at 586-2916.
Bonnie Woodring was laid to rest at Woodlands North cemetery in Houston, Texas, on Monday.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that memorials be sent for funeral expenses to the Stojanik Family, Bank of America, 3811 Washington Ave., Houston, TX 77007.
Memorials may also be made to her son’s college fund in care of First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 296, Sylva, NC 28779. Checks should be made payable to the church and designated for the family.
Assistant Editor Carey Phillips contributed to this report.
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