A West Virginia man who pleaded guilty to shooting his wife and dismembering her body last year has been sentenced to up to 40 years in prison.
Woody Alfred Wood Jr., 36, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of 37-year-old Rebecca Wood in August, and was sentenced on Monday, as reported by the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.
According to court records, he shot his wife after arguing with her in March 2016, for which he was facing first-degree murder charges.
Woody Alfred Wood Jr. (left), 36, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in August; Wood shot his wife Rebecca (pictured right ) in March, 2016, and dismembered her body, before burying it the basement and going to dinner with her family the next day
Wood then dismembered her body, placed the parts in trash bags and buried them in the basement.
He later confessed to the murder while talking to investigators.
McDowell County Prosecuting Attorney Ed Kornish offered no motive for the crime, which he called ‘a senseless killing’.
‘Woody Wood shot and killed his wife for no good reason,’ Kornish said, according to BDT. ‘We don’t know why. This is something that will haunt her family and the Wood family … Rebecca was shot with a rifle. The barrel was several feet from her head.’
Kornish claimed Wood hid a bloody mattress and his bloody clothes after the murder, went to her parents’ house the next day for dinner, and lied about her whereabouts, acting like nothing happened.
‘The facts behind this case are especially heinous,’ Kornish said.
Wood’s attorney Thomas H. Evans said his client did not wish to address the court.
After sentencing, Woods told the judge he wanted to say something to his late wife’s family, but Murensky, reminding him he had declined to speak earlier, denied his request.
‘If he wants to say anything, he can write them a letter,’ Murensky said.
McDowell County Prosecuting Attorney Ed Kornish offered no motive for the crime, which he called ‘a senseless killing’
The victim’s older sister, Cynthia Harman, read a letter from her family before sentencing.
Part of it read: ‘It took a real monster to take hours to cut her up and bury her. But to kill someone, and kill someone you love, and act like nothing happened takes a mean, heartless monster.’
Wood suddenly told the judge he wanted to say something to his late wife’s family, but Murensky, reminding him he had declined to speak earlier, denied his request
She added that her sister had given Wood half the house as an anniversary gift, and that she truly loved him.
After sentencing Wood, Circuit Court Judge Rudolph J. Murensky said ‘It probably should be more’.
He also said he had disallowed a statement Wood gave to police that he believed was inaccurate because it claimed the shooting was an accident.
Prosecutor Kornish says he believes Wood had help disposing of his wife’s body, but this has not been proven. An investigation continues into the possibility that someone helped Wood dispose of a bloodstained mattress.
Hartman said her family prays that whoever the accomplice was sees Michelle every time they close their eyes.
She held a small purple snowman doll while addressing the court, saying her 4-year-old granddaughter made it in Rebecca’s favorite color while the children were making them because she wanted her Aunt Becky to have one too.