The shocking murder of Susan Woods in Stephenville, Texas, which was not solved for twenty years, caught the attention of people all over the country. In a special show called “There Is A Monster In Me,” ABC‘s 20/20 looked into the strange murder that happened in a small town in 1987. This real crime story was full of tragedy, suspense, and justice, and the investigators had to deal with a lot of problems before they were able to figure out who did it.
Where is Joseph Scott Hatley’s Victim Shannon Myers Now?
Who is Michael Woods?
Michael Woods was married to Susan Woods, who was murdered and whose murder case has not been solved for almost twenty years. Michael had a rough and violent childhood. Since they didn’t have much money, they moved around a lot. Usually, one of his mom’s boyfriends was there. At some point, when Michael was seven or eight years old, his mom decided that everyone should start over. Her brother was stationed at Fort Bliss, so she moved her family to El Paso to be with him. His mom changed jobs a lot. The family also moved around a lot in El Paso. Michael had learned to play the guitar and loved it during this time. When Michael was still in his teens. His mother got married again. When Michael’s new husband got transferred, the whole family moved to Virginia. That’s when Michael began running away from home. His a lot of time on the East Coast and the area between El Paso and Indiana. He got paid to play the guitar.
In the late 1970s, When he was in his early 20s living with his parents in Virginia, an old family friend from El Paso was moving to Stephenville. A big truck driver was needed by her. Michael Woods flew to El Paso and drove her big truck to Stephenville. When he got to Stephenville, they asked him to stay for a while. After some time, he met Susan.
In his early years in Stephenville, Michael Woods felt like he didn’t belong. His unique choices about how to live, like having long hair, riding motorcycles, playing the guitar, and doing odd jobs, made him stand out in the small, conservative Texas town. After about five and a half years of marriage, the couple’s relationship started to weaken because they had different goals and ways of living. When Susan was killed so badly, the pair were going through a divorce, which made the investigation more difficult. The detectives saw Michael as a likely suspect because of how bad their relationship was and how contentious the divorce processes were.
In 1987, Susan Woods, a 30-year-old woman from Stephenville, Texas, was found dead in her bathtub. Her dad, Joe Atkins, found her dead body, and the investigation that followed showed signs of rape and sodomy. At first, detectives thought Michael might have been involved in the crime because of their tense relationship and a tape Michael left behind that said hurtful things about Susan and her family. Cindy Hayes who is the best friend of Susan and a cousin of Hatley described the recording as being of a vulgar nature.
During the first probe, Michael strongly denied having anything to do with raping and killing Susan. Michael expressed a sense of alienation inside the tiny town due to his unconventional lifestyle, characterized by his lengthy hair, motorcycle, guitar playing, and many unconventional occupations. He said he was in Indianapolis to help his brother build a house at the time of the crime. This, along with the fact that there were no fingerprints at the crime scene that matched, stopped the case from going forward.
In 2005, Michael’s worried friend Miller called the Stephenville police, which started the case all over again. Michael voluntarily gave a DNA sample, which proved that he wasn’t guilty. This turn of events was a big deal for Michael, who had been depressed and accused of murder for years because the case hadn’t been solved.
New developments in investigative science have shown that Joseph Scott Hatley killed Susan Woods. This was found almost twenty years after the crime. The FBI’s electronic national fingerprint database matches Hatley’s fingerprints to those of the person who was killed in Stephenville, Texas, in 1987. In 2007, he took a plea deal and admitted to the crime. He will now spend 30 years in jail for raping and killing Susan Woods.
Where is Michael Woods Now?
Living under the constant watch of the investigation, Michael talked about how sorry he was and how the suspicion had made him feel. His sadness made his life terrible, and he always thought that if he had been there, the tragedy might not have happened. Michael has remarried. Michael is now in his mid-60s and looks old and wrinkly. In 20023, he lives in Española, New Mexico. No one knows for sure where he is.
Susan Woods’ Killer: Where is Joseph Scott Hatley Now?
