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Dr. Woods' Daughter murdered

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I found this from the NY Post. So sad.

Aspiring Broadway Dancer Stabbed to Death
Monday, November 28, 2005
By Larry Celona

NEW YORK — An aspiring Broadway dancer was found stabbed to death in her New York City apartment Sunday night, police said.

Catherine Woods was discovered face down in a pool of blood on the floor of her bedroom. She had been knifed in the neck and hand, and the room was in "disarray, " police said.

Her boyfriend told cops she was an exotic dancer, police sources said.

But her parents in Columbus, Ohio, told The Post their beautiful 21-year-old daughter was a dancer who had appeared in an off-Broadway production called "Privilege."

Cops said the boyfriend, David Haughn, told them he discovered the body of the petite, dark-haired beauty in the bedroom of their second-floor apartment on the East Side of Manhattan.

The couple's Chihuahua was also in the apartment.

Haughn, a doorman, told cops he had left Woods in the apartment at around 7 p.m. to work on his car, which was parked nearby.

Twenty minutes later, he said, he returned to the apartment and noticed the door was ajar.

He told cops that when he entered the bedroom, he saw Woods, who was wearing a jogging suit, covered in blood and unconscious, and called 911.

"She was on her way to a successful career," said her grieving father, Jon Woods, who is the director of the Ohio State University marching band.

"Catherine was a beautiful girl. Very talented. And I think she had a good future. I think she was chasing her dream, which just ended."

The oldest of three children, she graduated early from high school and moved to New York 31/2 years ago.

The police sources said Haughn, 23, told cops the victim worked at FlashDancers Gentlemen's Club, in Midtown.

But two detectives who visited the club last night with her picture said no-one recognized her, and management said they'd never heard of her.

It was not known how long Woods and Haughn — who also is from Columbus — had been living in the apartment.

"I heard someone screaming. It sounded like a young woman," said Andrew Gold, who lives on the third floor.

Gold said that at around 6:20 p.m., "I heard a scuffle. Then I heard a dog barking. Then nothing.

"It was two screams. A long scream and then a short scream. I heard something fall to the ground."

A neighbor who lives across from Woods said a tenant found another dog belonging to the couple whimpering in the hall.

The neighbor said of Haughn, "I see him every day walking the dogs.

"He's a nice kid."

John Kane, a tenant at the building where Haughn works, said, "He's the nicest guy. I've known him for years. He's a really sweet kid."

Another neighbor said he invited Woods and Haughn to Thanksgiving dinner, but they declined.

He thought they spent the holiday alone.

Residents of the building were shocked.

"It's a very good area," said one. "It's a very low-key building. Nothing happens here."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176870,00.html
 
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Right now, I can only think of the parents and other family and the grief they must have. I couldn't deal with something like this, that's for sure.
This does, however sound like it might turn out in a way which NJ Buck hinted at. Hope not, for the family's sake.
 
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Some of these stories touch on the uncomfortable twists ...


Dancer, 21, dreamed of making it big on Broadway (Catherine E. Woods - OSU Marching Band Director Dr. Woods' daughter) - Columbus Dispatch$ •GN
News Release - TBDBITL •GN
DANCING BEAUTY MURDERED ON UPPER E. SIDE - NY Post •GN
Dancer led a double life - NY Daily News •GN
Exotic Dancer Found Murdered - ABC 7 •GN
Boyfriend questioned in stabbing - NY Newday •GN

I provide them for information only. PLEASE do not take this thread in another direction. It is for condolences to the Woods' family. I offer mine once again.
 
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I lived on the Upper East Side and I am getting ready to move my sister over to Tudor City later this month and this is the kind of stuff that scares the crap out of me. Young women walking alone in NYC are just prey for sick bastards like the one that attacked Catherine Woods. Whether she was a saint or a sinner does not matter at all...it still does not justify her young life being ended in such a brtual manner.
 
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As a former New Yorker I would also like to add that the Daily News fucking sucks...great for celebrity gossip and an easy crossword puzzle...that's about it. The rest of the paper is pure garbage. And don't get me started on their sports section...

Here is a great article from today's Dispatch:

Dancer’s dream lost in lurid headlines

Thursday, December 01, 2005

MIKE HARDEN


On the day after Catherine Woods was killed, the New York Post described her as "an aspiring Broadway dancer" in a story headlined "Dancing Beauty Murdered on Upper E. Side."

Within what seemed a New York minute, however, the 21-year-old was dismissively demoted in a WABC-TV Web site headline: "Still No Arrest In Topless Dancer Murder."

The New York Daily News teased readers with the headline "Dancer Led a Double Life: Parents of Slain Ohio Woman Didn’t Know She Was on B-way at Strip Club."

Based on the Big Apple news media coverage of the slaying, it seems that Woods’ first sin was failing to fit the template of their stereotype. Could it be that New York journalists wanted her to be an apple-cheeked Midwestern milkmaid who paid the rent on her Broadway dreams by scrubbing toilets?

New Yorkers know nothing of Columbus and its people. To them, we are just a bunch of yahoos hoeing the pole beans in one of those states with too many vowels, cows and all-you-can-eat buffets.

At last glance, the New York media were speculating on a love triangle that pitted Woods’ boyfriend, who followed her from Ohio, and a Manhattan fitness instructor against each other for Catherine’s affection. How long before we will see a New York headline featuring alliteration woven from topless, two-timing and triangle?

The view from Catherine Woods’ hometown is a little different.
Here, she was a beloved daughter and sister, a young woman whose incandescent dream of being a dancer had been with her since she was 3 years old.

She liked sketching, calligraphy and creative writing, and she was fond of animals — horses and dogs in particular.

None of that makes tantalizing grist for subway reading.

She left behind friends who will probably break down if they are invited, at the memorial service on Friday, to share a special memory of her.

In Columbus, the story of Catherine Woods is about a heartbreaking homecoming for a local girl.

But that doesn’t sell tabloids.

I doubt that New Yorkers — or anyone, for that matter — would find this story half as sensational were it about the slaying of an aspiring male dancer who earned rent money performing with the Chippendales.

New York will have its day with Catherine Woods.

Her death has provided CNN’s crime banshee, Nancy Grace, with enough fodder for a week of shows.

While I was wrestling with what might be said about the life and death of Catherine Woods, coincidence brought me an e-mail from a dear friend that included a few lines by poet T.S. Eliot:

Words strain,

Crack and sometimes break,

Under the burden, Under the tension, Slip, slide, perish, Decay with imprecision, Will not stay in place, Will not stay still. Words fail, fall short, get wrapped around sordid scenario and speculation. New York City would have us believe that there was something obscene about the life of Catherine Woods. Here, in her hometown, we know that the only obscenity is her death. Mike Harden is a Dispatch Metro columnist. He can be reached at 614-461-5215 or by e-mail.
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At a Loss For Words

I have visited this thread several times since this tragic news broke.

Each time I hoped I would find something good to say about this terrible loss of life.

I have not done so. there is probably nothing good one can other than the obvious -- my condolences & my sympathies to Dr. Woods and his family on their tragic loss.
 
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Very Sad

My thoughts go out to the Woods family. It is such a horrible tragedy and ridiculous that it is trying to be sensationalized by some segments of the media (Daily News/Fox). They should be ashamed.

NYC is such a safe place these days (much safer than Columbus), for a talented young woman to go there to follow her dream and have this happen to her is beyond heartbreak.
 
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http://www.wbns10tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4267991

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Verdana]Woods' Ex Arrested In Separate Case[/FONT]
<script language="JavaScript">var wn_last_ed_date = getLEDate("Dec20,2005,10:49 PM EST"); document.write(wn_last_ed_date);</script>Dec 20, 2005, 10:49 PM

There has been a big development in the investigation into the murder of Catherine Woods.
The daughter of OSU band director Jon Woods was found stabbed to death in her New York City apartment in November. Now, police have arrested Woods' ex-boyfriend for an unrelated sex crime.
The arrest of Paul Cortez provided police with something they didn't have before, his fingerprints.
10TV knows that investigators found a bloody fingerprint inside Woods' apartment. Now, they have something to compare it to.

The New York Post quotes police sources saying they've matched that bloody fingerprint to Cortez.
Police arrested the aspiring singer Monday and charged him with sexual assault. Police sources tell the Post the victim in the case only recently learned of Woods' murder, and came forward to tell police that Cortez assaulted her last New Year's Eve.

On November 27th, Woods' roommate, David Haughn, left their apartment for about 20-minutes to move his car. He came home to find Woods lying in a pool of blood and her throat slashed.

Police questioned Haughn for more than 24-hours before investigators focused their attention on Cortez.

He worked as a yoga instructor at Woods' gym. The two shared an on again, off again relationship, but had recently broke up.

10TV knows that Cortez made seven calls in a row to Woods' cell phone just before she was murdered.

A surveillance camera from a nearby bank may have caught Cortez standing outside Woods' apartment even though he told police he made those calls from his apartment more than 20-blocks away.
Police have not charged Cortez with the murder of Catherine Woods, and the case could rest on a single fingerprint.
Producers at 48 Hours say the district attorney says if they had been able to get a grand jury together, they would have tried to seek a murder charge against Cortez on Tuesday.

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jimotis4heisman said:
thats horrible.


im sorry but no area of nyc is "safe" with regards to areas we have here in columbus.
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With all respect, NYC is a very safe city, with a very low murder rate per capita, much lower than the other large ciities in America. I lived in Manhattan for 20 years--never felt threatened, and never knew anyone who suffered a major crime. While murders due occur, of course, crime is limited to high-risk areas, like the South Bronx, or the worst areas of Brooklyn (Crooklyn), and usually involve drugs. The most dangerous thing you can do by far is crossing the street--drivers are bad and you can be struck by cabbies quite easily. I've only been to Columbus once, and I'm sure it's a fine city, but your life is at much more risk there, every time you step into your automobile and drive around in your car, especially on the highways. You are much more likely to get hurt in your car in any city in America than get attacked in NYC. My point is that NYC is a very safe city, and I doubt her death was entirely random--the boyfriend is a suspect for good reasons. Anyway, I want to to express my condolences for the poor girl and her family, but I wanted to help dispel NYC's undeserved reputation.
 
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http://www.nbc4i.com/news/5628484/detail.html

Ex-Boyfriend Charged In Dancer's Slaying

Cortez Pleads Not Guilty

POSTED: 2:40 pm EST December 23, 2005
UPDATED: 5:46 pm EST December 23, 2005
<!--startindex-->NEW YORK -- The ex-boyfriend of slain dancer Catherine Woods was officially charged with murder Friday, NBC 4's Mike Bowersock reported.Paul Cortez was arrested Tuesday in an unrelated case, which allowed police to obtain a fingerprint to compare with those found in Woods' apartment. He was charged Friday with second-degree murder in connection with Woods' slaying, New York television station WNBC reported.<table class="clkImgTbl" align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="240"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td valign="top">
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A second-degree murder charge means the crime was a purposeful killing, and not an accident, punishable by 25 years to life in prison. There is no death penalty in the state of New York, NBC 4's Nancy Burton reported.Cortez appeared in court Friday morning, where he pleaded not guilty. During the brief arraignment, the prosecutor said that Cortez made statements, and there are witnesses that tie him to the slaying, NBC 4 reported. A district attorney also said "there's a bloody fingerprint found at the scene which has been matched to this defendant."<center> RAW VIDEO: Cortez Enters Court
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SLIDESHOWS: Paul Cortez | Catherine Woods | Crime Scene </center>Woods, the daughter of The Ohio State University Marching Band director Dr. Jon Woods, was found stabbed to death in her apartment."I want to say we are very thankful and appreciative of the hard work of the New York Police Department to apprehend this person, to get him off the streets. They have been very good communicating with us almost daily on their progress, which is very important to us," Jon Woods said.<table class="clkImgTbl" align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="240"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td valign="top">
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Investigators said Cortez, 25, made as many as seven phone calls to Catherine Woods, 21, in a short time before she was killed, but none after the killing.Police said, after he first cooperated, they wanted to ask Cortez new questions about a number of things, including his phone records, but were told that Cortez had retained a lawyer.Cortez is a personal trainer who works at the upscale Equinox Fitness Club on the Upper East Side. Investigators said Woods had recently broken up with Cortez. The two had been close and worked out together at an East 85th Street club.Woods, an aspiring dancer from Worthington, who apparently paid her bills working as a exotic dancer at New York clubs, was living with another ex-boyfriend, David Haughn. It was Haughn, an Independence High School graduate, who first discovered her body after leaving their apartment for about 20 minutes to pick up his car.Police said Haughn was questioned and continues to cooperate in the investigation. One investigator said Haughn insisted he loved her and hoped to get back together with her after her breakup with Cortez.Watch NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com for continuing coverage. Previous Stories:
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