Montana man accused of fatally beating and shooting woman nearly 3 decades ago
10/19/2022 2:23 pm PDT
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (TCD) -- A 59-year-old Montana man reportedly confessed to killing a woman whose body was found almost three decades ago in West Virginia.
According to WSAZ-TV, in March 1993, Lisa Estepp, who also went by Lisa Martinez, was found deceased. She had been shot in the torso and beaten, WSAZ reports.
The victim had been a sex worker, and at the time of her death, the Herald-Dispatch alleges that media outlets predominantly focused on that.
Upon further investigation, Ricky Woody was reportedly identified as a prime suspect, but there wasn't enough evidence to officially charge him.
Within a year of the victim's death, Woody allegedly moved from West Virginia to Billings, Montana.
In 2020, WSAZ reports that Woody was arrested on unrelated charges in Montana.
During an interview in 2021, Woody reportedly told authorities he knew the person who killed the victim and detailed what he could remember from the incident. He eventually confessed that he was involved with her death, according to WSAZ.
The case was reportedly reopened, and in September, Woody was indicted by a Cabell County grand jury and charged with murder in October.
Woody will be extradited back to West Virginia following a pending case.
He remains held in the Yellowstone County Detention Center on $50,000 bond for multiple charges, including being a fugitive from justice, tampering with witnesses and informants, possession of paraphernalia, parole violation, and assault with a weapon, records show.
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