ROBBINSVILLE, N.C. (AP)-A body found Wednesday on a houseboat is likely that of a man wanted for forcing his way into a domestic violence shelter and fatally shooting his wife, authorities said.
John \”Woody\” Woodring, 35, had been hiding from police since the Sept. 18 murder of Bonnie Woodring in Sylva, about 50 miles southwest of Asheville. Woodring was a 1989 graduate of Tyrone Area High School and had family in the Port Matilda area.
The sheriff\’s office declined to confirm the identity of the body found Wednesday on a houseboat in far western North Carolina until autopsy results are available. But District Attorney Michael Bonfoey told the Asheville Citizen-Times that Woodring\’s body had been found.
The victim\’s family said that law enforcement officials told them Woodring shot himself in the head with a stolen handgun, the newspaper reported.
“You always wonder if he\’s going to show up, but this is the best news,” said Bonnie Woodring\’s daughter, Christina Stojanik.
Woodring was charged with first-degree murder in the Sept. 18 death of his wife at the shelter where she and her son were staying to escape him. Woodring was already wanted on domestic violence charges after being accused of violating a protective order and trying to strangle his wife at her home Sept. 14.
Woodring fled in a stolen car after the shooting, police had said.
The killing put domestic violence shelters across the state on high alert. The shelter in Sylva had panic buttons, a fence, an alarm system and locks on every window and door, but Woodring forced his way in as a staff worker was leaving, investigators said.
The murder case and Woodring were featured on the FOX television show “America’s Most Wanted” in late September. Agencies including Tyrone and other area police were notified about Woodring in the days after the murder. The FBI also assisted North Carolina authorities in the effort to capture him.
Before the killing, Woodring was a teaching assistant at Western Carolina University, where he was seeking a degree in counseling.
Editor’s note: Additional details were provided from staff reports.
