For a month and a day, a successful business man from Columbus was listed as missing from Warren County. During that time in 1992, clues surfaced.
First his car, then his wallet and finally his body with a bullet in the back of his head. Detectives followed the trail until it went cold.But now, the investigation is heating up again.
Dusty boxes of evidence. some destined for crime labs, pulled from a property room after 14 years is where Warren County's cold case detectives begin looking for the truth to the murder of Richard Woods.
Take time to love kids, don't use or accept guilt.
Richard Woods' four children found these "words to live by" in their father's desk after the Columbus man's body was found on Middleboro road in Warren County 14 years ago.
"He always made sure to spend time at dinner. Our dinners were old fashioned, no t.v., talk, everybody had to talk."
Richard Woods worked hard at success as a high end furniture salesman. He was making calls in our area when he disappeared October 8th 1992. He said I'll be home at 7:30, i'll call as i'm leaving." That's the last time his wife had talked to him.
"Hours passed. I remember having that knot in my stomach where is he?"
Sue listened to a message left on her husband's office phone from Lebanon furniture store owner Sam Perone. He told Woods to stop by his "Just Living Rooms" store late in the day. The two men were business rivals, competitive, even jealous.
"When I heard that message my heart sank. You go back to the last place known to be alive and that was just for living rooms in Lebanon, ohio."
At "Just Living Rooms", detectives found something curious. In front of a desk a piece of carpet cut away. days after Woods had disappeared. And there was something else; something that looked like blood on the remaining carpet.
Old tests came back negative but forensic science has come along way especially with DNA.
It used to need a dime sized sample now only a pinhead. Other evidence that could be retested includes what CSI's took from Woods' Lexus. The car was found a day after he disappeared at a rest stop off 71, seven miles from Lebanon and his wallet found along Nixon Camp Road. There are old witnesses to find too, such as the one at the rest stop.
Witnesses say they saw the vehicle park, someone get out get into another vehicle and leave.
A prosecutor is already assigned to the investigation. "Our goal is no cold cases. A cold case is a defendant who got away with murder."
Detectives searched for clues in files and labs. Richard Woods' youngest daughter searches for a memory of her father. She has none. Gabrielle was 2 when he was killed.
"She is such a joy. So Gabrielle cherishes her father's words. The ones he wrote in her baby book. She really has a touch with children. Each is so special. Words from a father she never got to know.
The family wants to know who is responsible for that.
