Charlie was a sweet,religious man who deserved more out of life than he got. He was a very smart man, boardering on genius. He was chemist/inventor. He was always the top chemist at the paint companies for which he worked. He had many paint related inventions, which he was never paid separately for by his employers. Right before he died, he had invented a paint that would have been used on ships to prevent the build up of molds and such. He did not write the formula down. Only he knew it. When he died that formula was lost. Which I am thankful for, only because an employer from which he left some time before his death, won the rights to in a court. (Sad to know that a man's mind can be owned by someone else. The court said it was part of his work contract. The fact that that company failed to keep their end of the contract didn't seem to count.)
His death was very hard on his family. He was murdered by an ex-employee of the company in which he was working. (This employee had an arrest record, and was fired because he was caught stealing from other employees.) My dad was good to him. He had driven the man to and from work at times.
My dad had a habit of going to work early. He was working early, alone, on the day he was murdered. The man who murdered him came prepared to murder him. He had on plastic gloves. He struck my father repeatedly on the head. Beat him. Them dumped chemicals on his body. The co-owner, a woman, came in while the murder was in progress. The murderer chased after her and killed her,too. The murderer was known and caught within days of the murder. He was turned in by an uncle. He had bragged to others about his deed. He confessed.His fingerprints, not on the murder weapon because of the gloves, were found on the car which he stole to get away.
Five years after the murder this man was finally tried. The confession was thrown out because the interviewer left the room where the confession was being made, returned and failed to Morandize him again. After a lengthy trial, it ended in a hung jury. One man, a fellow black man, refused to "find a brother guilty". To avoid having another trial he agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge, and served less than 15 years for two murders.
Father: James Walter Wood 1879-1939
Four daughters,all still living:
Sherylle Lynn Wood Cerniglia
Cathleen Marie Wood Hartsook
Deborah Sue Wood Sigrist
Teresa Rae Wood Widener
His death was very hard on his family. He was murdered by an ex-employee of the company in which he was working. (This employee had an arrest record, and was fired because he was caught stealing from other employees.) My dad was good to him. He had driven the man to and from work at times.
My dad had a habit of going to work early. He was working early, alone, on the day he was murdered. The man who murdered him came prepared to murder him. He had on plastic gloves. He struck my father repeatedly on the head. Beat him. Them dumped chemicals on his body. The co-owner, a woman, came in while the murder was in progress. The murderer chased after her and killed her,too. The murderer was known and caught within days of the murder. He was turned in by an uncle. He had bragged to others about his deed. He confessed.His fingerprints, not on the murder weapon because of the gloves, were found on the car which he stole to get away.
Five years after the murder this man was finally tried. The confession was thrown out because the interviewer left the room where the confession was being made, returned and failed to Morandize him again. After a lengthy trial, it ended in a hung jury. One man, a fellow black man, refused to "find a brother guilty". To avoid having another trial he agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge, and served less than 15 years for two murders.
Father: James Walter Wood 1879-1939
Four daughters,all still living:
Sherylle Lynn Wood Cerniglia
Cathleen Marie Wood Hartsook
Deborah Sue Wood Sigrist
Teresa Rae Wood Widener
Charlie was a sweet,religious man who deserved more out of life than he got. He was a very smart man, boardering on genius. He was chemist/inventor. He was always the top chemist at the paint companies for which he worked. He had many paint related inventions, which he was never paid separately for by his employers. Right before he died, he had invented a paint that would have been used on ships to prevent the build up of molds and such. He did not write the formula down. Only he knew it. When he died that formula was lost. Which I am thankful for, only because an employer from which he left some time before his death, won the rights to in a court. (Sad to know that a man's mind can be owned by someone else. The court said it was part of his work contract. The fact that that company failed to keep their end of the contract didn't seem to count.)
His death was very hard on his family. He was murdered by an ex-employee of the company in which he was working. (This employee had an arrest record, and was fired because he was caught stealing from other employees.) My dad was good to him. He had driven the man to and from work at times.
My dad had a habit of going to work early. He was working early, alone, on the day he was murdered. The man who murdered him came prepared to murder him. He had on plastic gloves. He struck my father repeatedly on the head. Beat him. Them dumped chemicals on his body. The co-owner, a woman, came in while the murder was in progress. The murderer chased after her and killed her,too. The murderer was known and caught within days of the murder. He was turned in by an uncle. He had bragged to others about his deed. He confessed.His fingerprints, not on the murder weapon because of the gloves, were found on the car which he stole to get away.
Five years after the murder this man was finally tried. The confession was thrown out because the interviewer left the room where the confession was being made, returned and failed to Morandize him again. After a lengthy trial, it ended in a hung jury. One man, a fellow black man, refused to "find a brother guilty". To avoid having another trial he agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge, and served less than 15 years for two murders.
Father: James Walter Wood 1879-1939
Four daughters,all still living:
Sherylle Lynn Wood Cerniglia
Cathleen Marie Wood Hartsook
Deborah Sue Wood Sigrist
Teresa Rae Wood Widener
His death was very hard on his family. He was murdered by an ex-employee of the company in which he was working. (This employee had an arrest record, and was fired because he was caught stealing from other employees.) My dad was good to him. He had driven the man to and from work at times.
My dad had a habit of going to work early. He was working early, alone, on the day he was murdered. The man who murdered him came prepared to murder him. He had on plastic gloves. He struck my father repeatedly on the head. Beat him. Them dumped chemicals on his body. The co-owner, a woman, came in while the murder was in progress. The murderer chased after her and killed her,too. The murderer was known and caught within days of the murder. He was turned in by an uncle. He had bragged to others about his deed. He confessed.His fingerprints, not on the murder weapon because of the gloves, were found on the car which he stole to get away.
Five years after the murder this man was finally tried. The confession was thrown out because the interviewer left the room where the confession was being made, returned and failed to Morandize him again. After a lengthy trial, it ended in a hung jury. One man, a fellow black man, refused to "find a brother guilty". To avoid having another trial he agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge, and served less than 15 years for two murders.
Father: James Walter Wood 1879-1939
Four daughters,all still living:
Sherylle Lynn Wood Cerniglia
Cathleen Marie Wood Hartsook
Deborah Sue Wood Sigrist
Teresa Rae Wood Widener
Gravesite Details
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