DNA in 51-year-old cold case shows bar owner killed by customer at closing time, Moab police say – Moab Sun News

Two sets of cigarette butts and bar glasses showed Ann Woodward, co-owner of Woody’s Tavern, sitting next to someone around closing time on a Friday night in 1973.

On the morning of March 3, 1973, a 46-year-old mother was found robbed, assaulted, and strangled on the floor of a bar by her husband. Although police and sheriff’s officials gathered evidence and identified the men who had been in the bar, they were never able to positively identify her killer.

Moab Police Detective Jeremy Drexler took on the case after joining the department and sent evidence, including cigarette butts and Woodward’s clothing, to be tested for DNA using advanced techniques at the state crime lab.

This morning, the Moab Police Department was able to positively identify Douglas K. Chudomela, a local mine worker who was at the bar that evening, as the man who attacked and murdered Ann.

“I truly believe that if this case had been presented to a jury, he would have been found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the murder of Ann Woodward,” Grand County Prosecutor Stephen Stocks said at a June 28, 2024, news conference.

The skinny girl died in 2002 after working as a truck driver. Officials said they would enter Chudomelika’s DNA into the CODIS system once the case was officially closed, which would allow law enforcement agencies across the country to check his involvement in any ongoing cold cases.

This is a developing story and will be updated as new facts emerge.