The True Story of John Raymond "Woody" Woodring
Transformations
200.jpg)
As spring turned to summer, Bonnie went through her own metamorphosis and began acting like a different person. According to friends, the change was so drastic, they suspected she was on drugs. In reality, Bonnie was being abused both physically and mentally. Woodring limited Bonnie's contact with friends and family members and controlled nearly every aspect of her life.
While Bonnie desperately wanted to escape the marriage, she was afraid of Woodring and began suffering from severe bouts of depression. She was angry with herself for ignoring her gut feeling and angry she had remarried Woodring, who had, by now, ruined her credit and depleted her entire savings. When they had started out, Bonnie had hoped Woodring would begin to contribute something to their bank account, but his only interest was in draining it. Bonnie's money published his book, purchased his two boats and paid for his 2002 Corvette. Bonnie had nothing, and Woodring had everything.
.jpg)
On June 9, 2006, Bonnie finally decided to stand up for herself and filed a complaint for a domestic violence protective order. Within the complaint, she wrote:
"From the beginning our relationship has been rocky, riddled with jealous rages, intimidation, pushing me down, threatening to kill me if I ever left him anytime we fought over the last year. [He] degrades and cusses at me and my child. Last July [he] assaulted my daughter and her boyfriend visiting from Texas. I am very afraid for myself and my child. He is an ex-marine and very strong. Yesterday he was screaming and cussing at children and cussed at me. Children were crying and scared. Approx 2 weeks ago [he] purposely bruised son's arm 'play fighting.'"
After reviewing Bonnie's complaint, Jackson County District Court Judge Danny Davis ruled Bonnie "failed to prove grounds of ex parte relief" and her petition was denied.
Bonnie's attempt at getting a restraining order forced Woodring to temporarily change his tactics. Rather then belittle Bonnie, he took some of the blame upon himself and said he was "no good" for her and that maybe he should "kill himself" or crash his Corvette. He even suggested he might take his boat out, overdose on pills and then sink it. In the end, Bonnie stayed out of fear, not out of pity.
Things boiled over once more on September 13, 2006. On that day, Woodring again lost his temper and attacked Bonnie. The following text is taken from her second complaint for a domestic violence protective order:
"I have been in this relationship for 1½ years and over the last several months have tried to work on getting out of this abusive relationship including filing [a] restraining order before, which was denied. This man has previously been convicted of assault on other wives. Three weeks ago when I attempted to leave he choked me twice and ripped off my necklace and tried to remove my ring. He comes to my work and harasses me, even today, and keeps tabs on where I am 24/7. It has taken me three weeks to safely plan how and when to leave. He uses his strength, build and Marine ways to intimidate me and my son. He has also choked my son...
"Three days ago Woody put his foot on [redacted] face while he was lying on the ground. Woody states he was 'playing' but [redacted] was crying. It was obvious that this was upsetting [redacted]. I spoke to Woody that this was not playing and hurt [redacted]. Woody states he is such a [illegible] baby and 'momasboy'. Woody thinks the 'rough housing' is normal but [it] is distressing to my son. Concerned for [my] child's safety, this distress caused me to lose my position at work and [I] had to transfer to another department. He also threatens to kill me if I ever left him."
Following Bonnie's second petition, the court finally granted the order. It read in part:
"No contact includes any defendant-initiated contact, direct or indirect, by means such as telephone, personal contact, Email, pager, gift-giving or telefacsimile machine."
In addition to the court order, a hearing was set for September 19, 2006. Relieved, Bonnie and her son went to stay at a local domestic violence shelter.
