David Leonard Wood, the Desert Killer
Overview
David Leonard Wood is a convicted Texas serial killer known as the “Desert Killer.” He was linked to a series of murders and disappearances in the El Paso, Texas area during 1987. The victims were girls and young women, several of whom were last seen in Northeast El Paso before their bodies were later found buried in shallow graves in desert terrain outside the city. Wood was convicted in 1992 and sentenced to death on January 14, 1993.
The case became one of El Paso’s most disturbing murder investigations because of the ages of the victims, the remote burial sites, and the pattern investigators believed connected the crimes. Most of the victims disappeared within a few months of one another. Their remains were discovered over time between September 1987 and March 1988 in desert areas northeast of El Paso. Prosecutors argued that Wood targeted vulnerable girls and young women, drove them into isolated areas, sexually assaulted them, killed them, and buried them in shallow graves.
Background
David Leonard Wood was born on June 20, 1957, in San Angelo, Texas. Before the murder case, he already had a record involving sexual offenses. In the late 1970s, he was convicted of indecency with a child. In 1980, he was convicted in connection with sexual assaults and received a prison sentence. He was later released on parole and returned to the El Paso area in January 1987.
After his release, Wood lived and worked around El Paso. He was described as having long hair, tattoos, and an ability to move easily among young people, dancers, and people connected to bars or the local nightlife scene. Investigators later focused on the fact that several victims had either been seen near areas Wood frequented or had some possible connection to him or to places he was known to visit.
The 1987 El Paso Murder Pattern
In 1987, a number of girls and young women disappeared from the El Paso area. The confirmed murder victims connected to Wood’s conviction disappeared between May and August of that year. Their bodies were later found in shallow graves in the desert. Several remains were discovered close to dirt roads, and some were found near one another. The remote locations made the crimes difficult to uncover quickly, and decomposition limited what investigators could determine about the exact cause of death in some cases.
Authorities believed the killer used the desert as a dumping and burial ground because it was isolated, sparsely traveled, and difficult to search. The pattern of victims, locations, and shallow graves led investigators to believe the crimes were connected. Wood was eventually accused of killing six girls and young women: Rosa Maria Casio, Desiree Wheatley, Karen Baker, Angelica Frausto, Dawn Marie Smith, and Ivy Susanna Williams.
Confirmed Victims Connected to Wood’s Conviction
- Rosa Maria Casio — Age 24. Reported date of death: May 13, 1987. Location: El Paso, Texas. Casio was one of the first victims connected to the case. Her remains were found on September 4, 1987, in a shallow grave in a desert area northeast of El Paso. Her body was discovered near the remains of Karen Baker. Investigators believed her death was part of the same murder pattern because of the location, burial method, and timing.
- Ivy Susanna Williams — Age 23. Reported date of death: May 30, 1987. Location: El Paso County, Texas. Williams was originally from Colorado and had moved to the El Paso area. She was last seen in late May 1987. Her remains were found on March 14, 1988, in the desert, months after the first bodies had been discovered. Unlike some of the other victims, her remains showed evidence of stabbing. Wood was convicted under the Texas serial murder statute in connection with the killing of Williams and the other victims.
- Desiree Wheatley — Age 15. Reported date of death: June 2, 1987. Location: El Paso, Texas. Wheatley disappeared after leaving school in El Paso. She had just finished her last day at H.E. Charles Middle School and was walking home when she separated from friends. Witness accounts later placed her near a tan or beige pickup truck. Her remains were found on October 20, 1987, in a shallow grave in the desert near the remains of Dawn Marie Smith.
- Angelica Frausto — Age 17. Reported date of death: June 7, 1987. Location: El Paso, Texas. Frausto was a teenager from El Paso who had a history of running away and had worked as a dancer despite being underage. She was associated with places in Northeast El Paso, including bars that Wood was known to frequent. Her remains were found in November 1987 in the desert, near the same general area where other victims had been recovered.
- Karen Baker — Age 20. Reported date of death: July 5, 1987. Location: El Paso, Texas. Baker was a young mother of three. She disappeared after being seen around the Hawaiian Royale Motel on Dyer Street in El Paso. Witnesses gave accounts that connected her to a man matching Wood’s description or to a vehicle associated with him. Her remains were found on September 4, 1987, near Rosa Maria Casio’s remains in a desert burial site.
- Dawn Marie Smith — Age 14. Reported date of death: August 27, 1987. Location: El Paso, Texas. Smith was the youngest confirmed victim in Wood’s conviction. She disappeared in late August 1987. Her remains were discovered on October 20, 1987, near Desiree Wheatley’s burial site. The close placement of the two victims was one of the details investigators used to connect the murders as part of the same series.
Other Missing Girls and Young Women Investigators Considered Possibly Connected
In addition to the six confirmed murder victims, investigators also looked at other disappearances from the El Paso area in 1987. These cases were suspected by some investigators to be connected to Wood, but their bodies were not found and Wood was not convicted of their murders.
- Marjorie “Margie” Knox — Age 14. Disappeared February 14, 1987, after going to El Paso for a Valentine’s Day gathering. She was from the Chaparral, New Mexico area, near El Paso. She remains missing.
- Melissa Alaniz — Age 13 or 14, depending on the source. Disappeared March 7, 1987, from the El Paso area. She remains missing.
- Cheryl Lynn Vasquez-Dismukes — Age 19. Disappeared June 28, 1987, in El Paso after reportedly going out to buy cigarettes. She remains missing.
Discovery of the Bodies
The investigation changed dramatically on September 4, 1987, when workers found human remains in a shallow grave in the desert northeast of El Paso. The remains were identified as Rosa Maria Casio. During the search of the surrounding area, investigators found another shallow grave nearby containing the remains of Karen Baker. The discovery made it clear that police were not dealing with isolated missing person cases.
On October 20, 1987, hikers or searchers found two more bodies in the desert. These were later identified as Desiree Wheatley and Dawn Marie Smith. Their remains were also buried in shallow graves and located in the same general desert region. In November 1987, the remains of Angelica Frausto were found nearby. On March 14, 1988, Ivy Susanna Williams was discovered in the same broad desert area, adding a sixth confirmed victim to the case.
The bodies were generally found in remote areas near dirt roads. The use of shallow graves suggested that the killer wanted to conceal the victims but did not spend much time creating deep burial sites. The desert environment, exposure, and passage of time made forensic recovery difficult. In some cases, decomposition prevented investigators from determining every detail about how the victims died.
Investigation and Arrest
David Leonard Wood became a suspect after investigators collected witness statements, reviewed his criminal history, and compared reports from surviving victims and people who had seen the murdered women before they disappeared. A surviving sexual assault victim later identified Wood as her attacker. Her account became important because prosecutors argued that the assault showed a similar pattern to the murders: a woman was lured or taken in a vehicle, driven toward an isolated area, assaulted, and threatened.
Witnesses also described seeing some victims with Wood or with a man resembling him. Others described vehicles similar to one connected to him. Investigators searched Wood’s apartment and vehicle-related items. Evidence discussed at trial included fibers and lint that prosecutors said helped connect Wood to the victims’ clothing or burial circumstances. Jailhouse witnesses also claimed that Wood had talked about or confessed to the killings while in custody, though those types of statements later became controversial because jailhouse informant testimony is often challenged by defense attorneys.
Trial and Conviction
Wood was indicted for the murders of six victims: Ivy Susanna Williams, Desiree Wheatley, Karen Baker, Angelica Frausto, Rosa Maria Casio, and Dawn Marie Smith. His trial was moved from El Paso to Dallas because of heavy local publicity. In 1992, a jury convicted him of capital murder. He was sentenced to death on January 14, 1993.
The prosecution presented the murders as a connected series committed by one offender. They argued that Wood had the opportunity, criminal history, vehicle access, and personal connections necessary to commit the crimes. They also relied on witness statements, similarities among the crimes, burial locations, and alleged statements Wood made while jailed.
Wood has maintained that he is innocent. His attorneys have repeatedly challenged the conviction, arguing that the case relied heavily on circumstantial evidence and that additional DNA testing should be performed. Over the years, his execution dates have been delayed or stayed while courts reviewed different claims, including issues related to DNA testing, intellectual disability claims, and questions about the strength of the evidence.
Why the Case Remains Notorious
The David Leonard Wood case remains notorious because it involved multiple young victims, a series of desert burial sites, and a long legal battle that continued for decades after the conviction. The crimes terrified the El Paso community in 1987 because the victims seemed to disappear from ordinary places: near schools, motels, convenience stores, streets, and social areas. Their bodies were later found in isolated desert graves, turning the open land outside the city into a major crime scene.
The case also stands out because of the unresolved disappearances of Marjorie Knox, Melissa Alaniz, and Cheryl Vasquez-Dismukes. Although Wood was suspected in connection with those missing persons cases, they were not part of his murder conviction. Their disappearances remain an important part of the broader history of fear surrounding the 1987 El Paso cases.
Legacy
David Leonard Wood is remembered as one of Texas’s most infamous convicted serial killers. His case is also remembered for the victims: Rosa Maria Casio, Ivy Susanna Williams, Desiree Wheatley, Angelica Frausto, Karen Baker, and Dawn Marie Smith. They were young women and girls whose lives ended in a short, violent period in 1987. Their cases changed the way many people in El Paso thought about safety, missing person reports, and the danger posed by repeat violent offenders released back into the community.
Decades later, Wood’s name remains tied to the desert northeast of El Paso and to one of the darkest murder investigations in the city’s history. While the legal arguments around his conviction have continued, the confirmed victims and their families remain at the center of the story.
