San Angelo Native Scheduled for Execution Nearly 40 Years After Desert Murders

SAN ANGELO, TX — David Leonard Wood, a San Angelo native known as the “Desert Killer,” is set to be executed on March 13, 2025, nearly four decades after his conviction for a string of murders in El Paso, Texas.

Wood, now 67, was convicted of killing six young women whose bodies were discovered in shallow graves in the Northeast El Paso desert between 1987 and 1988.

Wood’s execution will take place at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Huntsville Unit after 5 p.m. He has spent over 30 years on death row, maintaining his innocence and filing numerous appeals to overturn his death sentence.

Born in Tom Green County, Wood lived in the area before moving to El Paso, where he attended Parkland High School. After dropping out in the ninth grade, Wood worked as an auto mechanic. Before his arrest for the murders, he had already served prison time for multiple rape convictions in the early 1980s.

Shortly after his release, young women and teens began disappearing in El Paso. Authorities later linked the victims to Wood, who was indicted for their murders in 1990. His trial was moved to Dallas due to extensive media coverage, and he was sentenced to death in 1992.

Wood’s victims ranged in age from 14 to 24, with their bodies found in the desert. Those identified include Desiree Wheatley, 15; Rosa Maria Casio, 24; Ivy Susanna Williams, 23; Karen Baker, 20; Angelica Frausto, 17; and Dawn Marie Smith, 14. Three additional young women connected to the case—Marjorie Knox, Cheryl Vasquez-Dismukes, and Melissa Alaniz—remain missing.

Evidence used in Wood’s conviction largely relied on testimony from jailhouse informants who claimed he confessed to the murders. However, no biological evidence directly linking him to the crimes has been presented. Despite this, Wood was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.

Wood’s execution follows years of appeals and legal battles, including arguments over DNA evidence and claims of mental disability. His attorney, Gregory W. Wiercioch, has argued that key evidence, such as a bloodstain on a victim’s clothing that excluded Wood, was never properly tested. Efforts to secure further DNA testing were denied by Texas courts, citing late filings.

Wiercioch maintains that the denial of additional testing violates Wood’s constitutional rights and is seeking a stay of execution from federal courts.

Wood’s scheduled execution is one of four in Texas for 2025.