Ezra McCandless was sentenced in Dunn County on February 7 after she was found guilty of the March 2018 killing of Alexander Woodworth in Wisconsin. McCandless, 22, was found guilty by a jury of seven men and five women of first-degree intentional homicide in November 2019.
McCandless has been sentenced to life in prison. She will be eligible for supervised release in 2070. Since her arrest, McCandless had maintained that she had acted in self-defense. In addition, her lawyers tried to portray Woodworth as being fantasized by cannibalism and that McCandless feared that she would be raped.
Alex Woodworth.
Prosecutors say that McCandless stabbed Woodworth more than a dozen times and left his dead body in a car in the town of Springbrook. McCandless and Woodworth had previously been in a relationship together. McCandless said of Woodworth during the sentencing hearing, “I loved Alex very much and I also feel a great loss.” Alex Woodworth was 24 years old. McCandless’ motive was related to her trying to reignite a romance she had with another man who was not Woodworth, according to the Associated Press.
That man was Jason Mengel, who is 13 years older than McCandless. During the trial, the jury heard that during her relationship with Mengel she became pregnant but later had an abortion. Mengel was all as a witness in the trial and testified that during their relationship, McCandless told police that she had been raped by one of Mengel’s best friends. Police did not charge the friend in the matter, reports KARE.
Screengrab via ScottReisch.com
During the sentencing hearing, the farmer who encountered McCandless in the immediate aftermath of the stabbing, Don Sipple, told the suspect, “No matter what happens here today, I hope we will still be friends.” While Woodworth’s aunt told the court, “There’s so much to life he had yet to experience. . . and you, Ezra, took that away from him — selfishly.”
McCandless’ story will be covered by “48 Hours” on CBS and will air on the night of February. The teaser for the show mentions that during the trial, McCandless had said that Woodworth has carved the word “boy” into her arm. An apparent reference to the fact that McCandless formerly identified as male.
Ezra McCandless pictured on her GoFundMe page.
McCandless’s family has set up a GoFundMe page in order to fund her appeal. McCandless writes on the page, “What I face now is a mandatory life sentence. The journey I will now take is the necessary steps to be re-heard in a higher court. Our goal is this. Ultimately resulting in a second chance at life, and Freedom itself. The battle for justice has only begun. We stand unflinchingly in the truth, we will never rest on what we believe in. Justice in the face of adversity. We will be the unrelenting voice of change in the face of prejudice, misunderstanding, and injustice. Support a voice of change. Be a voice of change.”
While an Instagram page that had previously set to private, has been unlocked by McCandless’s family. The page showcases McCandless’s artwork. The artwork can be purchased with the proceeds going toward McCandless’s appeal.
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