For the third time, tech director John Kevin Woodward (58) has been arrested for the murder of Laurie Houts. But this time, the police have put in place an important piece.
Less than 20 minutes ago
–
On September 5, 1992, 25-year-old software developer Laurie Houts left the Adobe Systems workplace in Mountain View, California.
She was later found strangled and killed in her own car at a landfill about 1.5 kilometers from the workplace.
The rope used in the suffocation still tightened around the neck. On the inside of the car’s windshield, one could clearly see her footprints, something public prosecutor Jeff Rosen describes as “a clear sign of the fight” that took place before she was killed.
Police found Houts’ wallet near the scene and quickly ruled out a robbery.
Suspected girlfriend’s roommate
The police investigation quickly concentrated on John Kevin Woodward, who in 1992 lived with Hout’s girlfriend.
Woodward is said to have been openly jealous of Houts after developing feelings for his roommate, the public prosecutor writes in a press release.
He also did not have an alibi for the time of the murder.
The roommate asked Woodward directly if he had killed Houts, while police listened to the conversation. Instead of answering the question, Woodward asked what the police knew.
Woodward was arrested for the 1992 murder.
Not enough evidence
Woodward’s fingerprints were found on the outside of the car. But investigators struggled to link him to the murder weapon, or the inside of the car.
Nevertheless, he was tried in 1995. According to the public prosecutor, the jury failed to make a decision by a majority, a so-called “hung jury”.
The following year, Woodward was again tried. This time, the judge dropped the case after the jury again failed to agree on the question of guilt.
After the second trial, Woodward moved to the Netherlands.
According to the Dutch newspaper The Telegraph was now 58 years old Woodward living in Utrecht in the Netherlands. Here he was president and director of the tea company ReadyTech, which is hired by companies to train employees virtually.
New DNA evidence
In 2020, the cold case group reopened the Houts murder and sent evidence in the case to the Santa Clara County Crime Lab for new investigations.
The New York Times writes that the laboratory used new technology to examine the DNA samples of the rope used in the murder. The tests could establish that the DNA samples came from Woodward’s skin cells.
Fibers from Woodward’s trousers were also matched with fibers on the rope.
Police also managed to match several of the 80 fingerprints from inside the car with Woodward’s fingerprints after new investigations.
On Saturday, Woodward traveled from Amsterdam to New York, where he was immediately arrested at the airport and again charged with the murder of Houts. He is now moving to California.
According to the attorney general, Woodward could face life in prison if convicted.
– Know it’s going to be tough
“She has been missing for 30 years, and now we miss her again,” Hout’s younger sister Cindy said after the arrest, according to The New York Times.
Her first reaction was “Yes!”, Before she realized that she would not get her sister back, she says.
– We have been through two trials, so we know it will be tough to go through a new trial. We hope the outcome will be good this time, she says.
Woodwards defends Todd D. Greenberg, saying the client denies guilt.
ReadyTech, the company where Woodward is director, says in a statement the arrest came as a shock.
“We have deep sympathy for the families involved,” the company said, according to the New York Times.
–
