Fairbanks family struggles to cope with slaying of woman, 4 young kids
Jason
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Thursday, February 17, 2000
Fairbanks family struggles to cope with slaying of woman, 4 young kids
By MARTHA BRISTOW
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
FAIRBANKS - Former Fairbanks resident Tina Wood was one of those people
who drew the world to her, her mother said. She was bright and friendly,
and it seemed that she could do just about anything, from playing the
piano to cutting her children's hair.
"Anything she wanted to learn to do, she could do it," her mother,
Cheryl Egan, said Tuesday night.
Wood, 31, and four of her six children died Monday in Missouri in a
tragedy her family here can hardly begin to absorb.
Wood's husband, Raymond, has been taken into custody in Warrensburg,
Mo., and charged with the shooting deaths of Tina and their children
Jared, 10, Joshua, 8, Emily, 7 and Hannah, 5.
The youngest of the Wood children, Moriah, 4, and Katlin, 2, survived
the shooting but remain hospitalized. Moriah was listed in critical
condition and Katlin was in fair condition Tuesday.
Raymond Wood was held under a $2 million bond after being arraigned
Tuesday on five counts of first-degree murder, two counts of
first-degree assault and seven counts of armed criminal action.
Wood said Tuesday that he was "just starting to understand what
happened."
"My wife is innocent," Wood, 36, said in response to questions as he
left the Johnson County Courthouse after his arraignment. "My children
are innocent and beautiful."
In Fairbanks, Egan, her husband, Michael, and their daughters Ginger,
Julie and Amy were preparing Tuesday night to leave for Missouri to take
care of Moriah and Katlin, make funeral arrangements and sort out the
affairs of the young family.
Tina Wood was born in Fairbanks, the oldest of four sisters, on June 13,
1968. She attended Barnette Elementary School, Ryan Middle School and
Lathrop High School, from which she graduated in 1986.
She was an honor student with a gift for music, her mother said. She
played the clarinet in high school and joined the jazz band at Lathrop
her freshman year. She took private piano lessons with Karen Johnson and
loved classical music.
After graduation, Wood studied music at Graceland College in Iowa, and
then at the University of Alaska Anchorage before marrying Raymond Wood
in Anchorage in 1987. The Woods have lived in Missouri for a little more
than 10 years, Egan said.
There she home-schooled the older children, baked the family's bread and
kept livestock. Goats were milked twice a day because one of the
children was allergic to cow's milk.
"She was very dedicated to her family," Egan said.
She also continued her piano studies, and then began giving lessons.
"She was just really good at teaching her students," Egan said. "They
loved her."
Wood was active in her church and served as its music director, Egan
said. Wood and her husband often helped those who were less fortunate.
Egan said she and her husband and her daughters are having a difficult
time taking in what has happened. Raymond Wood was a loving father, Egan
said, and the violent acts committed Monday do not jibe with the man
they knew.
All thought now is focused on taking care of "the babies," Moriah and
Katlin, Egan said. Tina and Raymond Wood had little money, Egan said.
The family will be setting up a fund to help pay for the girls' medical
expenses and their education, she said.