Texas Court of Criminal Appeals pushes death row inmate’s case back to trial court

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The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals remanded a death penalty inmate’s case to trial court after granting him a stay of execution two days before he was scheduled to be put to death in March.

In the brief order released on Wednesday, the court ordered that David Leonard Wood’s 1992 conviction return to trial court for the development of eight claims he made to the court in February. Labeled the “Desert Killer” in news coverage at the time, Wood was accused of killing six girls between the ages of 14 and 24 and burying them near El Paso in 1992. The bodies of Karen Baker, Rosa Maria Casio, Angelica Frausto, Dawn Smith, Ivy Williams and Desiree Wheatley, were recovered in the desert northwest of the city.

Among the eight claims Wood made in his appeal, he alleges the state had used false testimony, suppressed evidence and that his legal counsel operated with a conflict of interest, according to the order. The court did not specify which of those eight claims, if any, may be substantiated or upheld by the lower court. The motion granting Wood’s stay of execution in March similarly acknowledged the claims but did not point to which may be substantiated.

In two dissenting opinions, judges with the court expressed frustration over the lack of specificity on how the trial court will be used to develop the claims, and which of the claims may be substantiated.

“The order provides no guidance for what exactly should be developed, timeline for development, requirement of proceedings, or any other direction supporting our ultimate decision to dismiss or determine the application on the merits,” Presiding Judge David Schenck wrote in his concurring and dissenting opinion.

In a joint statement, Wood’s legal counsel said they appreciate the opportunity to prove Wood’s innocence.

“We are grateful that the CCA recognized the seriousness of Mr. Wood’s claims, which present a substantial amount of new evidence showing Mr. Wood’s innocence, including evidence that was withheld by the State during his trial,” Wood’s attorneys Gregory W. Wiercioch and Jeremy Schepers said.

The El Paso District Attorney’s office did not respond to an immediate request for comment.

Wood’s stay of execution in March is the only death sentence in 2025 to have been halted and the second death row inmate to receive a favorable ruling on appeal. Brittany Marlowe Holberg, who was sentenced to death in 1998 for the murder of an 80-year-old man, had her conviction overturned by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in March.

The state has executed four men this year. The state currently has two executions scheduled: Milam Blaine in September, and Robert Roberson, whose case became a point of tension between some state lawmakers and the attorney general’s office, in October. Roberson currently has an outstanding appeal with the state’s criminal appeals court.

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