Mark Woodworth

Mark Woodworth is an American man from Livingston County, Missouri, who was convicted twice for a 1990 home invasion murder of his family's farming partners, the Robertsons., which occurred when he was 16 years old. Woodworth spent twenty years in prison for the crime he did not do, but was finally freed and exonerated, after the ballistic evidence used against him was ruled to be tainted and was barred from being used in a court of law. The court also barred the Missouri Attorney General's office from prosecuting Woodworth a third time. When a special prosecutor was assigned who dropped all charges. Woodworth is listed in the National Registry of Exonerations.

His case was featured in episode: "Severed Ties - On the Case with Paula Zahn". As well as dozens of news articles following an alternate suspect, letters withheld from defense,

Small-town murder On the night of November 13, 1990, just some minutes before midnight, an assailant entered the Robertson home, located six miles outside of Chillicothe, Missouri. 44-year-old Lyndel Robertson was in bed with his 41-year-old wife Catherine, when the intruder opened fire with a .22 caliber gun. Catherine was shot in the back and in the head and died instantly. While Lyndel was shot several times, he survived. Of the four children in the house, none said they heard the gunfire. The youngest said he was awoken by his father moaning, and, after finding his father bleeding from his wounds, he ran to his sister's room, who called an ambulance.

Diester acquired the aid of Chief Deputy Gary Calvert of the Livingston County Sheriff's Office. Calvert had recently been the lead officer in the Faye and Ray Copeland case.

On July 4, 1992, Claude and Jackie Woodworth and the family went to visit relatives back in Illinois. Mark stayed at the house alone. Diester and Deputy Calvert picked this time to go talk with Mark. They went to the Woodworths where Mark was finishing lunch and then took Mark to the Sheriff's Office, where he was questioned for over four hours. They took his fingerprints.

On April 11, 1993, Mark was questioned again by Calvert and Deister. Again he said he didn't do it. He said he had been in the machine shed in the past as part of his work on the farm, but never touched any boxes of bullets on the bench. He later said it was possible he picked up a box of shells when he was in the shed helping Lyndel, but forgot he had done so.

Arrested

On October 29, 1993, Woodworth was charged with the second-degree murder of Catherine Robertson, and first-degree assault of Lyndel, burglary and armed criminal action. A well known Missouri lawyer featured in the Best selling "In Broad Daylight." The story of Ken Rex McElroy who was indicted 21 times, but with the aid of his lawyer McFaddin, got off each time.

Mark was sent to a polygraph examination with consent of McFaddin, though not present, he left Mark on his own. The examiner told Mark he failed, and when threatened with the eclectic chair, Mark replied: “Well, we all have to die someday.”

First Trial

In March 1995. Woodworth was tried as an adult in McFaddin and James Wyrsch handled his defense.

The prosecution contended that Mark took his father's gun and walked across the road and shot the Robertsons, stopping by the work bench in the Robertson's machine shed to get bullets. They flew Steve Nicklin from England, who testified about the bullet fragment taken from Robertson's surgery, who testified his results “strongly suggest” the bullet came from the Woodworth gun.

Officer Miller testified that he found a box of bullets on the workbench in Robertson's machine shed and dusted them for prints.

Don Locke testified that the thumbprint on the box of bullets matched Mark Woodworth's prints.

Reversal Two years later the Missouri Court of Appeals ruled that the trial judge erred, and the jury should have heard evidence that Lyndel Robertson had identified Thomure as the shooter while in the hospital, as well as evidence of Thomure's possible motive and opportunity.

St. Louis attorney Robert Ramsey took up the case and uncovered police reports showing that after the shooting, Rochelle had reported that Thomure had violated a protection order barring him from contacting her.

Gaining access to the case file and building a web presence with Road To Chillicothe, and other web platforms, Sale began outlining the case and gaining followers. Putting an emphasis on the obvious and bizarre lack of chain of custody of the bullet evidence. Critical evidence that was just handed to a private eye who judge Oxenhandler had deemed not credible.

February 2014 – all charges dropped Special prosecutor Don Norris was appointed and dropped all charges against Mark Woodworth.