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Thread: William Woods Sentenced in 2009 PA Arson Deaths

  1. #1
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    William Woods Sentenced in 2009 PA Arson Deaths

    Prosecution to seek death penalty in fatal arson

    The prosecution plans to seek the death penalty for William Robert Woods, the West Scranton man charged with the arson deaths of two young brothers, the boys' mother said.

    Lackawanna County District Attorney Andy Jarbola has told the family that prosecution intends to pursue a death sentence if Woods is convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of Taevon and Michael Miles, Tyaisha Leary said Friday outside Central Court.

    "I'm just glad they made the decision," she said.

    Moments earlier, Leary watched as Magisterial District Judge Terrence Gallagher arraigned Woods on 24 felony counts, including two counts of first-degree murder, in connection with the July 21, 2009, fire at 166 S. Hyde Park Ave.

    Woods, 41, Leary's former boyfriend, is accused of setting the fire in the dining room while she and her three sons slept upstairs.

    Gallagher ordered Woods held in the county prison without bail.

    Woods, who has been imprisoned at the State Correctional Institution at Somerset, was returned to the city about 45 minutes earlier by city police arson investigator Martin Monahan and county Detective Nicholas DeSando. He underwent initial processing at city police headquarters and then went to the courthouse for arraignment.

    Outside police headquarters, Jarbola said he will not announce the prosecution's decision on seeking the death penalty until after Woods' preliminary hearing.

    "I have talked to the family. They know what my intentions are," he said. "If they want to tell you, that's up to them."

    Investigators announced the charges against Woods on Wednesday, the first anniversary of the arson that killed Taevon, 9, and Michael, 10. Leary and her other son, Nijea, then 12, were seriously injured in the fire.

    On Friday, Leary said she can remember Taevon and Michael crying for help from inside the burning home on the night of the fire.

    If Woods is convicted and sentenced to death, she said, "I want to be front and center so I can remind him that I could hear my sons screaming and I could not get them out."

    Gallagher scheduled an Aug. 2 preliminary hearing for Woods, although the proceeding is expected to be postponed to a later date.

    Woods is already serving a 17- to 36-month state prison sentence for threatening to kill Leary and burn her house down about two weeks before the fatal fire. He pleaded no-contest to terroristic threats in October and was sentenced in December.

    http://citizensvoice.com/news/prosecution-to-seek-death-penalty-in-fatal-arson-1.900497

  2. #2
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    Suspect in Double Murder & Arson Faces Death Penalty

    A man accused of setting a fire that killed two young boys in Scranton will be going to trial.

    Taevon and Michael Miles died as a result of the blaze. It was an emotional day inside the Lackawanna County courthouse as the mother of the victims confronted the suspect, William Woods.

    After five hours of testimony and 12 witnesses, a judge ruled there is enough evidence to forward the case to trial.

    Witnesses portrayed Woods as jealous man. If convicted, prosecutors announced Friday they plan to seek the death penalty.

    The victim's mother, Tyaisha Leary said all she was looking for was justice. She is happy Woods will go to trial.

    William Woods is facing charges of murder, arson and criminal mischief for allegedly using an accelerant to light the South Hyde Park Avenue house on fire.

    Police and firefighters testified about how they had to rescue Leary and another boy from the roof of the home. They say the fire was so hot it reached temperatures of 12-hundred degrees.

    Defense lawyers say there is no direct evidence against William Woods. Prosecutors say they'll be able to prove their case and if convicted, they intend to seek the death penalty.

    William Woods remains locked up tonight. A trial date has not yet been set.


    http://pahomepage.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=158866

  3. #3
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    Prosecutors tell Woods he faces possible death sentence for arson/murder of two brothers in West Side

    The ex-boyfriend of a West Scranton woman whose house was deliberately set on fire, killing her two sons, was officially notified Friday that prosecutors will seek the death penalty at his trial.

    William Woods, who was arraigned on 24 counts of murder, arson and related offenses, displayed no emotion as Judge Thomas J. Munley explained the possible life in prison or death sentence he faces if convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of Taevon and Michael Miles.

    The boy's mother, Tyaisha Leary, left the courthouse with tears streaming down her face.

    "It's just awful," she said. "He knows what he did."

    Assistant District Attorney Corey J. Kolcharno, who along with Deputy District Attorney Maryann J. Grippo is prosecuting the case, cited several aggravating circumstances that led to the decision to seek the death penalty. They included the ages of the brothers, who were 9 and 10 years old at the time, and the fact they were killed while there was a protection-from-abuse order against Mr. Woods, ordering him to stay away from the house at 166 S. Hyde Park Ave.

    Mr. Woods is accused of setting the house on fire July 21, 2009. Police believe the fire was set in the dining room, possibly through a broken window, while everyone was asleep. Ms. Woods and her other son, Nijea, then 12, were seriously injured in the fire.

    Mr. Woods is already serving 17 to 36 months in state prison for threatening to kill Ms. Leary and burn her house down about two weeks before the fatal fire.

    At his preliminary hearing in October on the arson/homicide charges, a cellmate of Mr. Woods testified that Mr. Woods told him, "I did set the fire, but I didn't mean for the kids to get hurt."

    Prosecutors said Mr. Woods' comments to cellmate Jason Houman amounted to a jailhouse confession.

    No trial date has been set, but prosecutors said summer was the earliest it could start.


    Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/pro...#ixzz17nwZiJkl

  4. #4
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    A northeastern Pennsylvania man accused of having set a fire that killed two young boys is no longer facing a potential death penalty.

    The (Scranton) Times-Tribune (http://bit.ly/IVuY6k ) says trial opened Friday for 43-year-old William Woods of Scranton, who is charged with more than 20 counts including murder and arson in the July 2009 blaze.

    Prosecutors said Friday that they agreed not to seek capital punishment after Woods waived his right to a jury trial.

    Coroner Timothy Rowland testified that 9-year-old Taevon Miles died of burns and smoke inhalation. 10-year-old Michael Miles was also killed and his mother and another brother seriously injured.

    Woods is serving a 17- to 36-month sentence after being convicted of threatening to kill Leary and burn her house down about two weeks before the blaze.

    http://www.abc27.com/story/18364691/...fatal-pa-blaze
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  5. #5
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    SCRANTON — A Scranton man on trial for setting a fire that killed two young boys was found guilty Thursday afternoon on all of the charges against him.
    William Woods could now face a lifetime in prison. Lackawanna County President Judge Tom Munley found Woods guilty of all the charges against him, including two counts of first degree murder.
    Tyaisha Leary wore her sons’ school pictures on her t-shirt when she came to the Lackawanna County Courthouse for the last day of the trial against her ex-boyfriend.
    It’s been more than three years since two of her sons, Taevon Miles, 9, and Michael Miles, 10, were killed in a fire at the family’s home in west Scranton.
    “I should have a little less anxiety, the nightmares will hopefully be over,” said Leary after learning the verdict.
    Judge Munley found Leary’s ex-boyfriend William Woods guilty of 19 different charges for setting that fire.
    Tyaisha Leary and her three children were home when Woods torched their house on South Hyde Park Avenue with lighter fluid. Taevon and Michael Miles were trapped on the second floor.
    It took investigators a year to charge Woods with their murder. He was arrested in 2010.
    When his verdict was read, Woods wore a red prison jumpsuit and sat emotionless while the judge said guilty 19 times.
    “Just to see him in what he’ll have to live in for the rest of his life, I’m grateful, I’m grateful, I’m glad to the D.A., to everybody,” added Leary.
    “We felt strong about our case and it’s obvious the judge felt the same way we did by rendering the verdict that he did,” said D.A. Andy Jarbola.
    Jarbola and a team of investigators called witnesses for more than a week. They originally were looking for the death penalty, but as part of a deal made with Woods, the maximum penalty he faces is life in prison.
    “I’m happy he got what he deserves. I’m really happy, and I know my grandsons are looking down and saying, ‘thank you’. He wont hurt anybody else,” added the victims’ grandmother Dorean Davis.
    William Woods will be sentenced in the next few months.

    http://wnep.com/2012/10/11/william-w...der-and-arson/

  6. #6
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    Scranton, Lackawanna County- A Lackawanna County man convicted in a double murder and arson trial was sentenced this morning
    William Woods was sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus 37 to 74 years behind bars.
    In court Woods again denied the charges.
    He was found guilty of setting a fire in 2009 in West Scranton that killed two young boys, Taevon and Michael Miles.

    http://pahomepage.com/fulltext?nxd_id=308732

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