Next In Line To Die: Texas ‘Desert Killer’ Claimed At Least Six Lives

[The execution of David Wood was halted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals- for now]

You rarely hear about a bona fide serial killer anymore- at least one that is still alive.

However, David Wood, "The Desert Killer" is still alive- for a little while longer, anyway.

Unless something unexpected happens, Wood will meet the needle-sharp end of Texas justice on March 13th, 2025.

Some of us have a small identity crisis when we turn 30 and respond with one last very raucous party, or we buy an expensive car, or just bury it in a bottle for a little while.

Wood spent the three-month time frame around his 30th birthday burying bodies in the West Texas desert.

Before his murdering spree, Wood had many failures and brush-ins with the law. He dropped out of school in the 9th grade and got rejected from joining the army.  In 1976 he was convicted of indecency with a child and served 2 years of a 5-year prison sentence.

In 1980 he was convicted of raping a 19-year-old acquaintance and a random 13-year-old girl. He was found guilty of both crimes and served only 6 years of a 20-year sentence.

He was released in 1987 and almost immediately thereafter, girls and women started going missing in the El Paso area.

Marjorie Knox, 14, went missing on Valentine's Day.

Melissa Alaniz, 13, went missing on March 7. The two girls had known each other.

Desiree Wheatley, 15, went missing on June 7.

Karen Baker, 20, reported missing on June 10.

Cheryl Lynn Vasquez-Dismukes, 28, June 28.

Angelica Jeannette Frausto, 17, July 3.

Rosa Maria Casio, 24, August 12.

Dawn Marie Smith, 14, August 28.

The Bodies Begin To Surface

Utilities workers found Casio's remains on September 4th, 1987. Her jaw had been broken in two places.

While police investigated the scene, K-9 units stumbled upon the remains of Baker about 300 feet away

In October, hikers would stumble upon the remains of Wheatley and Smith less than a mile from where Casio and Baker were found. Two weeks later, Frausto's remains were found nearby.

And yet another woman would be found later in the same area- Ivy Susanna Williams, 23, of Colorado, who had recently moved to El Paso.

The remains of Knox, Vasquez-Dismukes, and Alaniz were never found, and we may never know if Wood was involved.

A Survivor Comes Forward

Thanks in large part to Judith Kelling Brown, Wood was identified as a rapist who frequented the area where the bodies were found. Brown managed to escape Wood- even after she watched him dig the hole he intended to bury her in.

Wood would be convicted of her kidnapping and rape, which of course also violated his parole. He was sentenced to 50 years for the crime, which also gave investigators time to build their murder cases against him.

Based on fibers found in his vacuum cleaner that match some of the victim's clothing, and on mountains of testimony from witnesses, Wood was convicted of 6 murders and sentenced to death on January 14, 1993.

Wood's attorneys have appealed his sentence several times, resulting in his long stay on Texas Death Row. A request to review DNA evidence has been denied by Texas Courts. His attorneys have also attempted to have his sentence appealed because he has tested and received low IQ scores.

Will Wood escape the needle this time? We will know very soon.