Judge orders DNA testing in 1987 Northeast El Paso serial killings case

Judge Dick Alcalá granted David Leonard Wood's request for DNA testing in connection with the 1987 serial killings of six girls and young women in Northeast El Paso, according to El Paso Matters. The ruling Friday marks a potential turning point in Wood's capital murder case, despite Texas' highest criminal court having previously rejected similar requests.

Wood, now 69, has been on death row since his 1992 conviction in the deaths of Desiree Wheatley, 15; Karen Baker, 20; Angelica Frausto, 17; Dawn Marie Smith, 14; Rosa Maria Casio, 24; and Ivy Susana Williams, 23. Their remains were found buried in the Northeast El Paso desert over several months in 1987. Only 12 of the 166 people on Texas death row have been there longer than Wood.

Alcalá, a retired jurist appointed to oversee Wood's appeal at the trial court level, acknowledged that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals had rejected defense DNA requests in May 2024, citing delay tactics. However, the appeals court's recent remand for further review gave Alcalá grounds to reconsider. "I'm going to grant the motion for DNA forensic testing," Alcalá said during a Zoom hearing.

DNA testing was not widely available when Wood was tried. Three pieces of evidence underwent testing in 2011 at his request. One test on a victim's clothing excluded Wood as a DNA contributor, but other tests were inconclusive. Trial judge Peter Peca ruled that year that the new evidence would not have changed the jury's 1992 verdict.

Two days before Wood's scheduled execution in March 2025, the Court of Criminal Appeals stayed the execution and remanded the case to the trial court without explanation. Alcalá has repeatedly noted the lack of direction from the appellate court.

The judge instructed defense and prosecution lawyers to draft a motion specifying which evidence the Texas Department of Public Safety should test. According to El Paso Matters, approximately 90 pieces of evidence may contain biological material suitable for testing. The timeline for completion remains unclear.