UT UT- Ann Hammer Woodward, 46, owner of Woody's Bar, robbed, S.A. & strangled w. own slacks, @ work, Moab, 2 March '73, *DNA, announcement forthcoming*

[dotr]

Announcement: Moab police solve 51-year-old cold case murder

Ann Hammer Woodward was killed after closing Woody’s bar in 1973. Authorities say they’ve identified her killer via DNA.

moabsunnews.com

''DNA was identified on items collected and “has allowed us to positively identify who killed Ann, and put together details of the event that were previously unknown and never released to the media.”

Woodward and her husband, Leslie H. “Woody” Woodward, owned Woody’s Tavern, where Woodward was found strangled after failing to return home after closing the bar. Money was taken from the business and Woodward appeared to have been sexually assaulted. The Moab Police Department reopened the case in 2006.

Details of the case and Woodward’s killer will be released by authorities at a press conference on June 28. The Moab Sun News will cover the release live.''

 

[dotr]

3. COLD CASE: Ann Hammer Woodward (Moab, Utah) - Utah True Crime | iHeart

<p>Ann Woodward and Leslie "Woody" Woodward were the husband and wife team who owned and operated Woody's Tavern in Moab, Utah. On March 2, 1973, Ann failed to come home after closing the bar by herself. Early the next morning, Woody found Ann dead between two pool tables, having been strangled...

www.iheart.com

''April 30, 2024 • 26 mins
Ann Woodward and Leslie "Woody" Woodward were the husband and wife team who owned and operated Woody's Tavern in Moab, Utah. On March 2, 1973, Ann failed to come home after closing the bar by herself. Early the next morning, Woody found Ann dead between two pool tables, having been strangled with her own pants. Despite a few leads and reopening her case in 2006, Ann's killer has never been caught. It was announced in November 2022 that investigators were pursuing "touch DNA" technology to hopefully learn who murdered Ann those fifty-one years ago.''

 

[dotr]

Police use DNA evidence to solve 51-year-old murder of Moab bar owner | Gephardt Daily

Police say DNA evidence collected from a pair of pants used to strangle and murder a Moab woman, 46, inside the bar she owned in 1973 has identified her killer.

gephardtdaily.com

Moab police solve 51-year-old cold case with pair of pants stored away for decades

A single pair of pants led authorites of the Moab City Police Department have solved the 51-year-old cold case of the homicide of Ann Hammer Woodward.Ann, 46, w

kjzz.com

rbbm
''Detective Drexler led the presentation held at Moab City Hall on Friday, June 28, where he identified Ann’s killer as Douglas K. Chudomelka.
On the evening of Ann’s murder, she had been working at Woody’s, the local bar that she owned and operated. Images taken by the press in 1973 revealed an unknown man sitting beside Ann. Years later, this individual was identified as Chudomelka.''

''Chudomelka, who had come to Utah for his work in mining, was 25 at the time of Ann’s death. He died in 2002. Investigators found that he had criminal records in Alabama, California, Iowa, and Nebraska.''

 

[dotr]

rbbm

DNA in 51-year-old cold case shows bar owner was killed by patron at closing time, Moab Police say

This morning, the Moab City Police Department was able to confidently identify Douglas K. Chudomelka, a local mine worker who had been at the bar that night, as the man who attacked and murdered An…

moabsunnews.com

''Chudomelka passed away in 2002 after working as a truck driver. Officials said they will enter Chudomelka’s DNA into the CODIS system after the case is officially closed, allowing law enforcement agencies across the country to check to see his involvement in any open cold cases.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more facts emerge.''

 

[dotr]

Lengthy article with lots of info regarding DNA in the case etc.

MPD solves 51-year-old cold case murder - The Times-Independent

“He could explain away having his DNA on the outside of her clothes, but not the inside of her pants. No way."

www.moabtimes.com

rbbm
''Chudomelka, a man with a history of violence, died at 67 in 2002, nearly 30 years after police say he strangled and probably sexually assaulted Woodward, 46, who was the wife of then-Woody’s owner Leslie “Woody” Woodward.

Drexler theorizes that Chudomelka, who would have been about 36 in 1973, was angry at Woodward for beating him at poker, but he admits it could also have been a crime of opportunity rather than rage.

''His mid-1960s Ford sedan matched the car witnesses said they saw parked next to Woodward’s truck on March 1. She was killed between 1:40 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. March 2.''

“This case hinged on the hair Dalton pulled in 1973,” Drexler continued. “I have no idea how he knew that we would be able to do that today. Dalton made this case very easy for us in that aspect.”
Dalton was so advanced in his thinking that when he sent the FBI the fingerprints of suspects and cigarette butts, the FBI returned the box, unopened, with a letter that essentially read: “This is a great idea, but we don’t have the technology to do that.”