Charles Edward Wooten: The Betrayal of a Father's Faith
Overview
Charles Edward Wooten’s life of crime is a dark chronicle of violence, misplaced faith, and ultimate betrayal. In 1969, he brutally murdered two gas station attendants in the Fort Worth, Texas, area during a string of robberies. Sentenced to life in prison, he became the focus of a decades-long campaign for his release, tirelessly led by his own father, Arlis Wooten. The elder Wooten’s unwavering belief in his son's capacity for redemption tragically led to his own murder. In 1992, Charles Wooten was paroled, largely due to his father's efforts. Just over a year later, he shot, dismembered, and burned his father's body after an argument. Wooten's story is a chilling examination of a predator who manipulated the boundless love of a parent, leaving a legacy of three violent deaths and a family destroyed by misplaced trust.
Early Life and Descent into Crime
Charles Edward Wooten was born in 1950 in Hurst, a suburb of Fort Worth, Texas. Details of his childhood and upbringing are sparse, but it is clear that his path to violence began early. By his late teens, he was already involved in serious criminal activity. In 1968, at just 18 years old, Wooten was convicted of armed robbery in Tarrant County and handed a five-year prison sentence.
The justice system of the era, however, offered him a quick return to the streets. After serving only 18 months of his sentence, Wooten was granted parole in April 1969. His father, Arlis Edward Wooten, a grocery store manager, welcomed him home and tried to set him on a better course, helping him find employment. But the freedom and the second chance were squandered. Within months, Charles Wooten would escalate from robbery to murder, beginning a reign of terror that would forever mark the communities of North Texas.
The 1969 Murders
The summer and fall of 1969 were shattered by two senseless and brutal murders that were not immediately connected. The first victim was 58-year-old Loyd Dewey Choat, a gas station attendant working in North Side Fort Worth. On September 1, 1969, Wooten and a 16-year-old accomplice abducted Choat from his place of work. They forced him into the trunk of a car, drove him to a remote area, and shot him five times. His body was discovered days later, discarded in a creek bed near the town of Watauga. The crime was marked by a particularly disturbing detail, with a sheriff suspecting that Wooten may have brought two teenage girls to view the body, though this was never definitively proven.
Two months later, Wooten struck again. On November 6, 1969—reportedly the night of his bachelor party—he enlisted the help of his brother-in-law, Michael Wayne Bush, and a friend, Gerald Ross Weatherly. The trio targeted another gas station, this time in Wooten's hometown of Hurst. The attendant on duty was 26-year-old David Lee Daniels. In a frenzy of violence, Wooten stabbed Daniels 36 times before the assailants doused his body with motor oil and fled. The sheer brutality of the attack shocked even seasoned investigators.
The Victims
- Loyd Dewey Choat, 58 — Murdered on September 1, 1969, in Fort Worth, Texas. A hardworking gas station attendant, he was abducted from his job, robbed, and shot to death before being left in a creek bed.
- David Lee Daniels, 24 — Murdered on November 6, 1969, in Hurst, Texas. A U.S. Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam, he was brutally stabbed 36 times while working at a gas station. He was buried in Beverly Cemetery in West Virginia.
- Arlis Edward Wooten, 68 — Murdered on July 29, 1993, in Azle, Texas. A World War II Navy veteran and grocery store manager, he was a loving father who spent 23 years advocating for his son's release from prison, only to be murdered by him shortly after his parole.
Investigation and Capture
For weeks, the murders of Loyd Choat and David Daniels appeared to be separate, unconnected robberies gone horribly wrong. The break in the case came from Wooten’s own recklessness. On December 20, 1969, he was arrested while attempting to rob a grocery store where his father, Arlis, worked as an assistant manager.
With Wooten in custody, the pieces of the investigation began to fall into place. His teenage accomplice in the first murder soon implicated him in the abduction and shooting of Loyd Choat. Shortly thereafter, Michael Wayne Bush and Gerald Ross Weatherly also confessed their roles and pointed to Wooten as the primary killer in the savage murder of David Daniels.
While awaiting trial, Wooten exhibited manipulative and attention-seeking behavior. He falsely confessed to another, non-existent murder of a young blonde woman, providing no details that could be verified. Authorities quickly dismissed the claim as a hoax. Faced with two capital murder charges and the overwhelming testimony of his accomplices, Wooten was held without bond.
First Trial and a Father's Campaign
On May 26, 1970, Charles Wooten stood before a Tarrant County court. To avoid a potential death sentence, which the district attorney was actively pursuing, he pleaded guilty to two counts of murder with malice for the deaths of Choat and Daniels. He also pleaded guilty to the December 1969 grocery store robbery. The court handed down three consecutive life sentences, a punishment that seemed to ensure he would never again be a free man.
Following the conviction, Arlis Wooten began what would become a 23-year-long crusade to free his son. In interviews with the *Fort Worth Star-Telegram*, he portrayed Charles as a troubled man "haunted by dreams of murder and mayhem," but one who was capable of change. He wrote countless letters to the parole board, insisting on his son's innocence and rehabilitation.
Behind bars, Charles Wooten seemed to fit the part of a reformed man. He earned a master's degree in humanities and became a skilled leather craftsman, with his work being sold through a local store. All the while, he maintained his innocence in the 1969 murders, claiming he had been framed. His father’s persistent advocacy, combined with Wooten's apparent self-improvement, eventually swayed the Texas parole board. On May 29, 1992, after serving 23 years, Charles Wooten was released from prison.
The Ultimate Betrayal: The Murder of Arlis Wooten
Upon his release, Wooten moved into his father's apartment in Azle, Texas. Arlis helped him find work as a carpet cleaner and leather craftsman, and for a time, it appeared that the elder Wooten's faith had been justified. Charles seemed to be readjusting to life outside of prison.
But the peace was short-lived. On July 29, 1993, just over a year after his release, Charles and Arlis had a heated argument. The dispute ended when Charles shot his 68-year-old father in the head. In a horrific effort to conceal his crime, Wooten dismembered his father's body. He then transported the remains to a remote field in northeast Parker County, doused them with gasoline, and set them on fire.
A few days later, another of Arlis's sons reported him missing. The subsequent police search led to the gruesome discovery of charred and scattered limbs in the mesquite field near Azle. Investigators soon learned that a local youth had seen a man putting what looked like a body into a car trunk near the Wooten apartment, but his mother had dismissed the story at the time.
On August 3, 1993, Charles Wooten was arrested as the primary suspect. He was taken to the crime scene, where investigators noted his complete lack of emotion. Two other individuals, 41-year-old Titus Henry Hill and 24-year-old Michelle Ann Matl, were also arrested and charged with tampering with evidence for allegedly helping Wooten dispose of the body, though charges against them were later dropped or went unresolved.
Second Conviction and Imprisonment
During the investigation into his father's murder, prosecutors explored the possibility that Wooten's motive was financial, suspecting he wanted to collect on a life insurance policy. However, they lacked sufficient evidence to prove this in court.
Facing another capital murder charge, Charles Wooten once again chose to avoid a trial and a potential death sentence. On June 10, 1995, he pleaded guilty to the murder of his father. He was sentenced to another life term, this time with parole eligibility set after 35 years. The plea deal was a bitter disappointment for many of Wooten's family members, who had openly wished for him to receive the death penalty for the murder of the patriarch who had fought so hard for him.
As of 2024, Charles Edward Wooten remains incarcerated at the J. Dale Wainwright Unit in Lovelady, Texas. His crimes serve as a grim testament to the devastating consequences of a father's blind faith and a son's capacity for ultimate betrayal. He will become eligible for parole again in 2028.
