Warrensburg tragedy leaves town in shock
Repost
Kansas
City Star newspaper:
Warrensburg tragedy leaves town in shock
By TANYANIKA SAMUELS and LYNN FRANEY - The Kansas City Star
Date: 02/16/00
WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- As Maj. Randy Vick drove down a rural highway Monday
morning, the words of the 911 dispatcher echoed in his head: A family
had been
shot at 75 Southeast 501 Road.
It hit him: He knew this family, the Woods, from church.
Pulling his Johnson County sheriff's car onto the gravel driveway, Vick
saw
Raymond Wood standing calmly, his parents nearby.
Vick ordered his friend onto the ground, and a deputy handcuffed him.
Before
the day ended, Raymond Wood would be charged in the deaths of his wife
and four
of their children. He made his first court appearance Tuesday.
Outside the courtroom Tuesday, Wood said he was just "starting to
understand
what happened."
Twenty-four hours earlier, it was becoming all too clear to Vick exactly
what
had happened.
He saw Jared, 10, lying face down just outside the Woods' below-ground
home.
Joshua, 8, lay on a nearby hill.
Inside, Vick found the baby, 1-year-old Catlin, toddling around in
bloodied
clothes. On the floor lay her sisters, Emily, 7, and Moriah, 3.
Back outside the home, Vick saw their 31-year-old mother, Tina Wood,
inside the
family van, which had crashed into an embankment.
Raymond Wood's father, Gerald, told Vick that 5-year-old Hannah was
missing.
Vick went back into the house, where he found her curled up underneath a
bed,
lying on a blanket.
He felt for a pulse.
There was none.
"It was horrible," Vick said, "as horribly shocking as anything could
be."
Deputies took Raymond Wood to the Johnson County Jail. He later was
charged
with killing Tina Wood and four of their children: Jared, Joshua, Emily
and
Hannah. He also was charged with assaulting the two other children, who
survived.
Wood, 36, was formally charged Tuesday morning with five counts of
first-degree
murder, two counts of first-degree assault and seven counts of armed
criminal
action. A public defender was appointed for him.
He was subdued, answering just "Yes" or "No" to most questions from
Associate
Circuit Judge Stephen Angle. He was taken to the courtroom in a
black-and-white
striped jumpsuit, orange slippers, a bulletproof vest and shackles.
Wood will return to court this afternoon, when his attorney will be
present.
"My wife is innocent," Wood said as he left the courthouse Tuesday.
Outside the courtroom, he also told reporters: "My children are innocent
and
beautiful."
He is being held in the Johnson County Jail on $2 million bond.
Authorities
said Wood, who went through bouts of crying Tuesday, was being watched
closely
because authorities feared he might attempt suicide.
The two surviving children were still being cared for late Tuesday at
Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. Moriah was in critical
condition, and
Catlin was in fair condition, a hospital spokesman said.
The two children were placed in the custody of the Missouri Division of
Family
Services. A division official said the children would likely live with
relatives or a foster family after leaving the hospital.
The family's home is in unincorporated Johnson County, about four miles
east of
Warrensburg. There, they lived just yards away from Wood's parents,
Gerald and
Carol.
The children's maternal grandparents live in Alaska, where Tina and
Raymond
Wood both grew up, relatives said.
The Woods had lived outside of Warrensburg for about 12 years, Vick
said.
He said he saw the Wood family every Sunday at a Restoration church in
the
area.
Restoration churches are an offshoot of the Reorganized Church of Jesus
Christ
of Latter Day Saints. When the RLDS church began ordaining women, some
church
members broke off to start their own congregations, called Restoration,
church
officials said.
The Woods spent much of the week at their new house, an "earth contact"
home
they completed last year. Vick said Raymond Wood didn't want to live in
a
traditional house because he was afraid of tornadoes.
Raymond Wood worked with his father in a chimney repair business, and
Tina Wood
home-schooled the four older children.
"Tina was a wonderful mother, very talented," Vick said. "She taught
them
everything, piano, singing."
Tina Egan Wood, who graduated from Lathrop High School in Fairbanks,
Alaska,
also taught piano to neighborhood children.
Carol Wood did not want to talk about the killings Tuesday afternoon.
"We can't do anything now to make it better," she said. "We still have
two
grandchildren, and we're going to concentrate on them."
The Star's Donald Bradley and The Associated Press contributed to this
report.
-----------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 2/15/00 online edition of The
KTUU-TV,
local Anchorage, Alaska NBC-TV affiliate station web site:
By Laura Tanis
Former Alaskan accused of killing family
Anchorage, Feb. 15- A former Anchorage man charged with killing his wife
and
four children in Missouri apparently had a history of mental problems.
RAYMOND WOOD, 36, WAS ARRAIGNED in a Missouri courtroom on five
counts
of murder Tuesday. Chained in handcuffs, authorities led him to the
courthouse,
while reporters tried to make sense out of Monday’s tragedy.
“My wife’s innocent,” Raymond told reporters. “She’s beautiful.
That’s how
much I’ll say at this time.”
Wood’s wife, Tina, and four of their children, Jared, Joshua, Emily
and
Hannah, ranging in age from 5 to 10, were found shot to death at their
Warrensburg home. An infant and a 3-year-old were wounded in the attack,
but
they are both expected to survive. Wood’s wife was a former resident of
Fairbanks and Anchorage.
Neighbor James Williams helped Wood build his underground house.
He says
Wood often talked about the end of the world. But Williams and others
can’t
believe it ended like this for five members of the Wood family.
According to an Anchorage Times newspaper article, Wood had a
history of
mental problems. About 15 years ago, he was taken into custody, after
breaking
into a Midtown home and getting into a brawl. After telling police he
was God
and could make himself invisible, Wood was committed temporarily to the
Alaska
Psychiatric Institute.
When asked by a reporter if he understood what happened Monday, Wood
answered, “I believe I’m starting to understand.” What’s not clear is
whether
Wood understood what was going on at the time of the murders.
Wood faces 14 criminal charges. He’s being held on $2 million bail.
---------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of today's Associated Press news wire:
Wednesday, February 16, 2000
Former Alaskan charged in deaths
Wife, four kids killed in Missouri
The Associated Press
WARRENSBURG, Mo. - A former Alaskan charged with the shooting deaths of
his
wife and four of his children said Tuesday that he was just "starting to
understand what happened."
"My wife is innocent," Raymond E. Wood, 36, said about Monday's shooting
in
response to questions as he left the Johnson County Courthouse after his
arraignment on 14 charges. "My children are innocent and beautiful."
Wood wore a black and white striped jumpsuit, orange slippers and a
bulletproof
vest and was shackled as he was led to the courthouse under tight
security.
Wood was held on $2 million bond after his arraignment before Associate
Judge
Steve Angle on five counts of first-degree murder, two counts of
first-degree
assault and seven counts of armed criminal action.
Besides the four dead children, two young daughters were wounded.
The murder charges are punishable upon conviction by death or life in
prison
without chance of parole or probation.
Wood was subdued in court, answering just yes or no to most questions
from the
judge. When the judge told him he would need an attorney, he replied, "I
say
appoint one." A public defender was appointed.
The dead were identified as Tina Wood, 31, and her sons Jared, 10, and
Joshua,
8, and daughters Emily, 7, and Hannah, 5.
The other children, Moriah, 3, and Catlin, 1, were transferred to
Children's
Mercy Hospital in Kansas City for treatment and were expected to
survive. A
hospital spokesman said Tuesday that Moriah was in critical condition
and
Catlin was in fair condition.
Wood grew up in Anchorage and his wife grew up in Fairbanks. They lived
for a
time in Anchorage. It was unclear how long the family was living in
Warrensburg, which is about 50 miles southeast of Kansas City.
Wood may have a history of mental illness.
According to a 1985 story in the Anchorage Times, a Raymond E. Wood,
then 22,
was committed to the Alaska Psychiatric Institute after he reportedly
broke
into a home and later got into a brawl after speeding on Boniface
Parkway and
forcing other motorists off the road. He was taken to API after telling
police
he was God and could make himself invisible.
Maj. Randy L. Vick of the Johnson County Sheriff's Department said that
when he
arrived Monday morning at the scene of the shooting - an isolated area
along a
dirt road four miles east of Warrensburg - he found Wood standing in the
driveway with his parents, who live near the bunker-style underground
home
where the victims lived.
Vick said he found Jared dead and lying face down on concrete; Joshua
was found
on a nearby hill adjacent to the house. He and another officer found
Catlin
bloody, but walking around in the house. Two other children were found
lying on
the floor - Emily, who was pronounced dead at the scene, and Moriah.
Vick said he found Tina Wood "in a van that was driven into an
embankment by a
nearby creek." Wood's father, Gerald Wood, indicated at that point that
Hannah
was still missing. Vick said he checked the house and found Hannah lying
on a
blanket under a bed, and she had no pulse when he checked her.
Neighbors were stunned by the killings.
Della Davis called the Wood children a playful bunch often seen riding
their
bikes up and down the dirt roads and hills near their home. She could
not
square that image with Monday's events.
"You couldn't come across sweeter people," Davis said. "If I needed
anything
they were here for me."
Gerri Kent, another neighbor who attended church with the Woods, called
the
family "real sweet, good people."
She described Tina Wood as "one of the outstanding young mothers who
wanted to
do everything right for her kids."
-------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 2/15/00 online edition of The
KSHB-TV,
local Kansas City, Missouri NBC-TV affiliate station web site:
New Information about Warrensburg Massacre
A WOMAN AND her four children are found shot to death in their home
early
February 14 near Warrensburg, Missouri. Two other children from the same
family, a girl infant and a three year old girl were also shot. They
were
transferred to Children’s Mercy Hospital and officials there said they
are both
expected to live.
Johnson County Sheriff’s Department received two 911 phone
calls
monday morning about the incident. Officials said one came from inside
the
home, the other from a neighbor who reported hearing gun shots. When
officers
arrived on the scene they found the woman and her children shot and took
the
father Raymond Wood into custody. Wood is being held in Warrensburg on
two
million dollars bond and is on suicide watch. Court documents indicate
Wood
confessed to Sheriff’s officials that he shot his wife and kids.
The victims have been identified as 31 year old Tina Wood and her
children
Jared Wood, 10, Joshua Wood, 8, Emily Wood, 7, and Hannah Wood, 5. Two
other
children are at Children’s Mercy Hospital, 3 year old Moriah and one
year old
Catlin were also shot. Doctors said Moriah is in critical condition and
Catlin
is in fair condition.
Officials said the shooting took place in a farmhouse in the small
town of
Montserrat around 8:35 a.m., which is about four miles outside of
Warrensburg.
The home where the family lived was partially an earth dwelling.
According to court records Woods’ wife Tina was found shot inside a
van
that was driven into an embankment by a creek. They found 10 year old
Jared
face down on the concrete and 8 year old Joshua on a hill near the
house. The
youngest Catlin was found by authorities walking around with blood on
her
clothes, 7 year old Emily and 3 year old Moriah were found on the floor
and 5
year old Hanah was found underneath a bed.
Neighbors said the couple appeared to be happy and were members of a
local
church.
Raymond Wood has been appointed a Public Defender and will be back
in court
on February 16 in the morning.