Indiana Supreme Court won't consider appeal of Muncie woman's killer
MUNCIE, Ind. — The Indiana Court of Appeals has declined to hear what could prove to be Jess David Woods' final bid to overturn his convictions for killing a Muncie woman nearly three decades ago.
Woods, now 70, was sentenced to 100 years in prison in June 2009 after a Delaware Circuit Court 3 jury found him guilty of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the May 1993 slaying of Teresa French.
Prosecutors Jeffrey Arnold and Eric Hoffman said Anthony French, estranged husband of the slaying victim, had hired Woods — then of the Daleville area — to kill his wife.
The 29-year-old mother of three children was shot to death in the garage of her family's Cromer Avenue home.
Judge Linda Ralu Wolf — who presided over Woods' 2009 trial — last year rejected his bid for post-conviction relief.
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He had claimed Muncie police failed to pursue evidence Anthony French had killed his wife, and also said hearing problems prevented him for assisting his defense attorney during his trial.
In March, the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld Wolf's ruling, noting in part "the depth and breadth of evidence implicating Woods' guilt presented at trial."
Last week, the Indiana Supreme Court declined to further consider the case.
Chief Justice Loretta Rush signed the order denying the "petition to transfer" on Thursday.
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Woods is incarcerated at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. He has a projected release date in 2058, when he would be 106.
Anthony French, now 60, was also convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder at the conclusion of a 2008 trial. He was sentenced to 80 years in prison by then-Judge Robert Barnet Jr.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Supreme Court won't consider appeal stemming from Muncie slaying
