Rebecca Wood, a 35-year-old White woman from the War, West Virginia area, was killed in McDowell County in the spring of 2016 in a case that began as a missing-person investigation and quickly turned into a homicide inquiry. Although some records list April 1, 2016 as the date associated with her death, the criminal complaint placed the fatal confrontation on or about March 30, 2016. Investigators determined that Rebecca was killed inside the home she shared with her husband, Woody Alfred Wood Jr., in the English area of McDowell County.
Concern grew after Rebecca suddenly stopped communicating with her family. Her mother told authorities that Rebecca normally called her frequently, but those calls had abruptly stopped. She also expressed concern about Rebecca's husband, saying that he had been behaving differently. Family members reported Rebecca missing after she had not been seen for several days, and investigators began looking closely at Wood as a person of interest.
When McDowell County sheriff's deputies went to investigate the couple's residence, Wood fled into a nearby wooded area. He did not remain at large for long. His mother and stepfather subsequently brought him to the McDowell County Magistrate Court, where he surrendered to authorities. Deputy R.L. Blevins interviewed him, and Sheriff Martin West later said Wood confessed to killing Rebecca and told investigators where they could find her body.
According to the criminal complaint, Rebecca and Wood had been arguing on or about March 30 when the confrontation turned deadly. Investigators said Wood shot Rebecca in the head, causing her death. What happened afterward made the crime particularly disturbing. Court records later established that Wood dismembered Rebecca's body, placed her remains into trash bags and concealed them beneath the couple's home.
After Wood's confession, authorities secured the residence and brought in the West Virginia State Police Mobile Forensics Team to assist with processing the basement. Rebecca's remains were recovered there. The discovery confirmed the family's fears and transformed what had begun with unanswered telephone calls and a missing-person report into a murder investigation. At the time of Wood's arrest, Sheriff West said investigators had not determined a clear motive beyond the argument that preceded the shooting.
Woody Alfred Wood Jr. was arrested in early April 2016 and initially charged with first-degree murder. He was arraigned before Magistrate Richard VanDyke and was held without bond while the case proceeded. Authorities had both the physical evidence recovered from the residence and Wood's reported confession linking him directly to Rebecca's killing.
The prosecution ultimately ended without a murder trial. On August 18, 2017, Wood pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Court documents presented during the case described how he had fought with Rebecca, shot her in the head, dismembered her body and buried the remains. Under West Virginia law, the second-degree murder conviction exposed him to a prison sentence ranging from 10 to 40 years.
In October 2017, Wood received the maximum sentence available under that range: up to 40 years in prison. Reports surrounding the sentencing also revealed that investigators believed the concealment of Rebecca's remains might not have been entirely a one-person operation. McDowell County Prosecuting Attorney Ed Kornish said he believed Wood may have received assistance disposing of evidence, although that suspicion had not been proven. Authorities were specifically investigating whether another person helped dispose of a bloodstained mattress connected with the killing. No publicly documented charge or conviction of a second person was identified in the available reporting.
Rebecca's death therefore resulted in a confession, an arrest for first-degree murder, a later guilty plea to second-degree murder and a prison sentence of up to four decades for her husband. The investigation established that she had been killed during an argument, concealed beneath her own home and reported missing only after her family recognized that her familiar pattern of communication had suddenly stopped. What began as a family's concern over Rebecca's unexplained absence ended with the discovery of her remains and the prosecution of the person investigators determined was responsible for her death.
