COURT NEWS UPDATE – 35 YEAR OLD COLD CASE SENTENCING OF PATRICK WAYNE GILHAM

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent

NILES – Last week’s sentencing of Patrick Wayne Gilham for the 35 year old cold case murder of Roxanne Wood left family, police and others wondering about what might have been if Gilham hadn’t been released from prison early from a 1979 assault in northern Indiana.

Robert Farag of Gary spoke to reporters after last week’s sentencing at the Niles courthouse. Gilham

broke into Farag’s family home in 1979 while he was away and his wife was in the house with their two young children. She had left the door open because he had forgotten his key and Gilham broke in.

She confronted Gilham who then attacked her before running away. Gilham was arrested soon after that and sentenced to 22 years in prison but got out after serving only seven years. He murdered Roxanne Wood six months after getting out.

“My sympathy goes out to the Wood family, I feel their pain,” he said. “My daughters wanted me to come and speak for my wife. She died three years ago of cancer after a career as an educator. It’s difficult to think that he killed Mrs. Wood six months after getting out. If he had served half of his sentence, we wouldn’t be here today.”

“He learned from my wife to not leave a witness,” he added. “I have a lot of emotions today. I don’t want to see him out again and see the light of day. He’s proved to society that he’s a menace. I want to make sure he stays there (in prison) until he dies.”

Michigan State Police First Lt. Detective Chuck Christensen also attended the sentencing. He first worked on the case in 2001 as part of the cold case team. He credited new technology with forensic genealogy linking Gilham to the crime scene for allowing the state police to crack the case last year.

“It was real difficult, there were points in time when it wasn’t looking real good,” he said. “We had the DNA and trying to obtain samples from anyone she knew but it didn’t get us to the correct person. The new technology with forensic genealogy is unbelievable and got us here.”

“Unfortunately he lived free for 34 to 35 years,” he said. “In the first case the victim wasn’t killed and he was not out long when he did this. The theory is that he killed her (Roxanne Wood) because he didn’t want to go back to prison. Our hearts go out the family, we hope this provides some closure.”

Gilham, a South Bend resident, accepted a plea deal in March in which he pleaded no contest to second-degree murder in Wood’s death. Last week, Berrien County Trial Judge Sterling Schrock accepted that plea and sentenced Gilham to the agreed to 23 to 50 years in prison. Gilham must pay $258 in fines and costs and has credit for 63 days served.

Wood was found murdered in her Niles Township home in the early morning hours of Feb. 20, 1987 by her husband, Terry. The couple had been at a local bowling alley and Roxanne Wood had gone home earlier that her husband. He discovered her body when he arrived home.

Wood’s sister and brother both spoke before Gilham’s sentencing. They talked about how much their sister meant in their lives and the unfulfilled promise of her life which was cut short at age 30.

Wood’s sister, Janet Wood, spoke first. She noted that she and Roxanne married two brothers and she had to deal with all the “horrible rumors” over the years in which her brother-in-law, Terry, was thought by some to be involved in his wife’s death. “His life was irreparably damaged,” she said.

Janet Wood said the last 35 years has been “the very definition of a nightmare.” “He killed my sister in the most horrific way,” she said. “It sickens me to think of the terror she felt when she was attacked in the safety of her own home.”

“She was our guide and compass in our life,” she added. “I was 23 and her murder left me completely lost … She was our bright light on earth and one of the kindest people you would ever meet. All her dreams were shattered by this monster. He gave all of us a life sentence and through the wonders of modern technology he was caught.”

Wood’s brother, Brad Woods, described his sister as having a “laugh no one could forget” and “the kindest heart”. “She was a second mother to me and the glue that held our family together when our parents divorced,” he said. “She was the peacemaker in our lives and she’s gone because this man was released from prison early.”

“There are so many accomplishments in my life that I wish she could have seen, my marriage, the birth of my daughters and now my grandchildren,” he added. “I’m so grateful our 89 year old father is here to this today.”

Woods likened Gilham to a predator who preys on others and attacks at the most unsuspecting times. “He’s like a coyote who has no real purpose and is hated by all,” he said. “He stalked her and preyed on her when she was in the safety of her own home. He took her chance to grow old and have children.”

Both Judge Schrock and Assistant Prosecutor Jerry Vigansky didn’t say much before the sentencing, stating that there was nothing more to be said after hearing from Wood’s family.

For his part, Sanford asked that the judge follow the plea agreement. “He can’t recall the events which is no excuse but he is genuinely remorseful,” Sanford said.

Gilham, who wore headphones to hear the proceedings because of hearing difficulties, was visibly shaken and crying. “I’m very sorry for what I did, I’m so sorry,” he repeated a number of times. “I hope sometime in the future with God’s help that you can forgive me.”