Texas Schedules Execution of David Wood for March 13, 2025
David Wood, Texas
Monday, February 17, 2025
David Wood is scheduled to be executed at 6 pm local time on Thursday, March 13, 2025, inside the Walls Unit execution chamber at the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. Sixty-seven-year-old David is convicted of murdering 23-year-old Ivy Williams, 15-year-old Desiree Wheatley, 20-year-old Karen Baker, 17-year-old Angelica Frausto, 24-year-old Rosa Casio, and 14-year-old Dawn Smith between May and August of 1987, in El Paso County, Texas. For the last 32 years, David has been on Texas’s death row.
David was born in San Angelo, Texas as the second of four children. His father worked as an executive with the El Paso Electric Company and the family moved into a luxurious El Paso neighborhood when David was very young. While the family was well-off financially, David’s mother had signs of a mental illness. She was eventually treated and prescribed drugs that she abused and worsened her mental illness. Due to the problems between his parents, David and his siblings were often neglected. At times they were sent to live with relatives or in foster homes.
David was often described as a nervous and hyperactive child, leading to him repeating the first grade, third grade, and ninth grade. David did not do well in school, frequently skipping school, and dropping out after the ninth grade. He attempted to join the military but was rejected. During his teenage years, David became addicted to drugs and alcohol. He often did manual labor and odd jobs to make money.
In 1977, when David was 20 years old, he was sentenced to five years in prison for indecency with a child. He was released after serving two years. Less than a year later he was convicted of rape and sentenced to 20 years. He was released on parole on January 14, 1987, after searing about seven years.
Between May 13, 1987, and August 27, 1987, six women disappeared from the El Paso, Texas area. Over the next seven to eight months, the bodies were discovered in shallow graves in a desert area northeast of El Paso. At least four of the bodies had been sexually abused. An investigation revealed that five of the six women were seen on the day of their disappearances accepting a ride from a man either riding a red Harley-Davidson motorcycle or driving a beige pickup truck. Police later discovered that David Wood had vehicles that matched both descriptions.
In September 1987, a woman called the police to report that two months earlier, in July 1987, she had accepted a ride from a man matching David Wood’s description and driving a beige pickup truck. He drove to the desert northeast of town where he stopped the truck and ordered her out. Wood retrieved a “brownish red” blanket from the back of the truck, along with a shovel. Wood tied her up and dug a hole behind some bushes. After digging the hole, he attempted to rape her but stopped when he heard voices.
Wood ordered the woman back into the truck and took her to another area, where he tied her up and raped her. He again claimed to hear voices and left in his truck, leaving the woman alone in the desert. The woman directed police to the location where she was raped and to the first area, where Wood had dug the hole. At the first area, police discovered the bodies of the six missing women.
Wood was tried and convicted of raping the woman. He received a sentence of 50 years in prison for the rape. Wood was also tried and convicted for the murders of Ivy Williams, Desiree Wheatley, Karen Baker, Angelica Frausto, Rosa Maria Casio, and Dawn Smith, the six missing women. His trial was moved from El Paso to Dallas, Texas. During the trial, several other inmates testified to hearing Wood confess and brag about the crimes in prison. Wood was found guilty of all six murders on November 10, 1992, and twenty days later was sentenced to death. Wood also remains the sole suspect in the disappearance of three other women: 14-year-old Marjorie Knox, 19-year-old Cheryl Vasquez-Dismukes, and 14-year-old Melissa Alaniz.
Since his conviction and sentence, Wood has insisted upon his innocence, claiming the inmates who testified against him gave false testimony and only testified to help their own cases. With advancements in biological testing, Wood and his attorneys have requested multiple additional DNA tests on over 100 pieces of evidence. A request was granted on one piece of evidence, however, it did not link Wood to the crime. His attorneys have also unsuccessfully attempted to argue that Wood is intellectually disabled and should be disqualified from being executed. A hearing was held to determine Wood’s competency. Wood was found to be eligible to be executed.
Pray for peace for the families of Ivy Williams, Desiree Wheatley, Karen Baker, Angelica Frausto, Rosa Maria Casio, Dawn Smith, Marjorie Knox, Cheryl Vasquez-Dismukes, and Melissa Alaniz. Pray for strength for the family of David Wood. Please pray that if David is innocent, lacks the competency to be executed, or should not be executed for any other reason, that evidence will be presented before his execution. Pray that David finds peace through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
