{"id":1966795,"date":"2023-07-07T14:45:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-07T18:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-addresses-murder-suspect-who-was-on-the-run-for-nearly-40-years\/"},"modified":"2023-07-07T14:46:31","modified_gmt":"2023-07-07T18:46:31","slug":"judge-addresses-murder-suspect-who-was-on-the-run-for-nearly-40-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-addresses-murder-suspect-who-was-on-the-run-for-nearly-40-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge speaks to murder suspect who evaded capture for 40 years."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjudge-addresses-murder-suspect-who-was-on-the-run-for-nearly-40-years%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1966795&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Judge Addresses Murder Suspect Who Was on the Run for Nearly 40 Years<\/h2>\n<p>A judge in Tampa, Florida, has ordered a 65-year-old California fugitive held without bond in connection with the death of a woman nearly 40 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Donald Santini was arrested by U.S. marshals in Campo, California, last month\u00a0and extradited to Florida.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Donald Michael SANTINI was arrested by Deputies of the San Diego Fugitive Task Force in Campo, CA. SANTINI was wanted in Hillsborough County, FL for the murder of Cynthia Ruth Wood in 1984. SANTINI was featured multiple times on America\u2019s Most Wanted <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/fugitive?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#fugitive<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/USMarshals?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#USMarshals<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/p4kXeLJvAW\">pic.twitter.com\/p4kXeLJvAW<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 USMS San Diego (@USMSSanDiego) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/USMSSanDiego\/status\/1668382080848281615?\">June 12, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>He had used at least 13 aliases over the years.<\/p>\n<p>Santini was the last person seen with 33-year-old Cynthia \u201cCindy\u201d Ruth Wood of Bradenton, Florida.<\/p>\n<p>The arrest warrant said a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/brian-laundrie-autopsy-inconclusive-remains-will-be-sent-to-anthropologist-before-being-cremated\/\" title=\"Brian Laundrie Autopsy \u2018Inconclusive,\u2019 Remains Will Be Sent To Anthropologist Before Being Cremated\">medical examiner determined<\/a> she had been strangled, and Santini\u2019s fingerprints were found on her body after it was discovered in a ditch in Riverview, Florida.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou being on the run for almost 40 years is a consciousness of guilt. You knew you were running from something,\u201d Judge Catherine Catlin told Santini during a hearing in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/tampa-mayor-vows-track-maskless-super-bowl-fans-many-photos-maskless\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tampa<\/a> on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Photos taken in the courtroom showed Santini weeping before the judge denied bond.<\/p>\n<p>Wood\u2019s stepdaughter, Denise Kozer, told the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tampabay.com\/news\/crime\/2023\/07\/06\/hillsborough-death-bradenton-woman-fugitive-no-bail-santini-wood\/\">Tampa Bay Times<\/a> she\u2019s hoping to find closure in a case that resulted in \u201ctotal devastation\u201d for her family.<\/p>\n<p>Back in 1984, Santini was known as Charles Michael Stevens, which was an alias he used to flee a warrant in Texas.<\/p>\n<p>At the time of his arrest, he was living under the name Wellman Simmonds in Campo, which is in southeastern San Diego County. He served on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kurt-schlichter-democrat-senate-disaster-ahead\/\" title=\"Kurt Schlichter: Democrat Senate Disaster Ahead\">local water board<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has a wife and children in California, and I feel sorry for them because they probably didn\u2019t know, either,\u201d Kozer said. \u201cBut they\u2019re all still alive. Our lives were devastated, changed forever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kozar told the Times that both Barry Wood and the older son of Cindy Wood had died since the slaying, and her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-addresses-murder-suspect-who-was-on-the-run-for-nearly-40-years\/\" title=\"Judge speaks to murder suspect who evaded capture for 40 years.\">younger half-siblings<\/a> have suffered from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/chef-causes-meltdown-bans-vegans-restaurant-mental-health-reasons\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/9-year-old-girl-pepper-sprayed-during-interaction-with-rochester-police\/\" title=\"9-Year-Old Girl Pepper Sprayed During Interaction With Rochester Police\">mental health issues<\/a><\/a> since their parents\u2019 deaths.<\/p>\n<p>She told the newspaper she\u2019s spent years knowing that the man who destroyed her family has been free.<\/p>\n<p>The case has been featured on \u201cAmerica\u2019s Most Wanted\u201d several times.<\/p>\n<p>Wood met with Santini, who had called her with promises of providing information about her husband that could possibly help her win custody of their two children, who were 3 and 5, according to previous reports by the Bradenton Herald.<\/p>\n<p>Wood also had a son from a previous relationship. Kozer was Barry Wood\u2019s daughter from another marriage.<\/p>\n<p>Kozer, who was 20 when Wood was killed, said she hopes Santini doesn\u2019t get another chance to escape.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they need extra evidence, we\u2019re willing to let them exhume the body \u2014 whatever it takes to make sure that he doesn\u2019t go anywhere,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Donald Santini was on the run for 39 years after allegedly murdering a Florida woman in 1984. Police finally captured him in San Diego earlier this month.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CbmzJ8egCS\">https:\/\/t.co\/CbmzJ8egCS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 WEAR ABC 3 (@weartv) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/weartv\/status\/1674836869937233935?\">June 30, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Santini\u2019s attorney asked the judge for bail. But prosecutors said he killed Wood after fleeing a charge in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-border-patrol-cuts-wire-laid-texas-allows-illegal-migrants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Texas<\/a> related to a convenience store robbery.<\/p>\n<p>Catlin didn\u2019t need extra evidence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are the definition of flight risk,\u201d the judge told Santini during the hearing. \u201cThere is nothing I can do to preserve the safety of this community if I was to let you go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: italic\">The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/judge-addresses-murder-suspect-run-nearly-40-years\/\">Judge Addresses Murder Suspect Who Was on the Run for Nearly 40 Years<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\">The Western Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Tampa judge has ordered a 65-year-old California fugitive to be held without bond for his alleged involvement in a woman&#8217;s death almost four decades ago. Donald Santini was apprehended by U.S. marshals in Campo, California, and subsequently extradited to Florida. He was arrested by the San Diego Fugitive Task Force.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":1966796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1966795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1966795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1966795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1966795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1966796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1966795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1966795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1966795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}