DNA closes 51-year-old Moab murder case – Moab Sun News

Police say Woody’s Tavern owner Ann Woodward was killed by a customer after closing time

Cigarette butts and glasses around the bar indicated that Ann Woodward, co-owner of Woody’s Tavern, had been sitting next to someone on a Friday night in 1973, just before closing time.

The next morning, the 46-year-old mother was found by her husband – robbed, assaulted and strangled on the bar floor.

Moab police and sheriff’s officials identified dozens of men who were at the bar and collected evidence, but they were never able to positively identify the killer.

“They wanted to solve it. All the evidence was there,” current Moab police Detective Jeremy Drexler told the Moab Sun News, “but they just didn’t have the technology at the time to solve it beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Drexler said Douglas K. Chudomelka, a local miner, was identified as a suspect by police early in the investigation after the girl reported that he confessed to the murder. However, the woman withdrew her statement. Recently reopened investigations identified Chudomelka as the perpetrator.

“They wanted to identify the person sitting next to Ann in the worst possible way,” Drexler said. “From the original case notes, it appears that they were really counting on the fingerprints on the bar glasses to identify him.”

However, the glasses sent to the FBI produced inconclusive results.

“Investigators were stuck,” Drexler said, “and there was no good way forward. But they laid the groundwork to solve the case.”

Drexler took on the role of investigating the case with the support of then-Moab Police Chief Jared Garcia and current Chief Lex Bell.

Eventually, he worked with Grand County Sheriff’s Office officials to find evidence that had been stored for decades, though he wasn’t sure exactly what was there or what condition it would be in.

“It really was a huge interdepartmental effort,” Drexler said. “It took us nine minutes to find the evidence, and that was it.”

Finding the boxes containing evidence was “truly amazing,” he said.

“We found these boxes in storage, and they were absolutely pristine,” Drexler said. “We opened one box and saw that it was Ann’s clothes.”

“I knew then: we will get him.”

Authorities sent evidence, including Woodward’s clothing and a sample of Chudomelka’s hair, to be tested for DNA using advanced techniques at the state crime lab.

DNA was found on the inside of Woodward’s pant leg, which Drexler believed was the murder weapon, and was linked to Chudomelka.

“I truly believe that if this case were presented to a jury (today), he would be found guilty of the murder of Ann Woodward beyond a reasonable doubt,” Grand County District Attorney Stephen Stocks said at a news conference.

After the murder, Chudomelka left Moab and died in Nebraska in 2002.

Authorities said they will enter Chudomelka’s DNA into the CODIS system — a network of local, state and national databases of DNA profiles of convicted criminals — once the case is officially closed, allowing law enforcement agencies across the country to check his possible involvement in unsolved cases.

“I hope there won’t be any more murders,” Drexler said, “but it’s very important to know.”

Drexler said additional testing is ongoing. A full presentation of all results will be made once the case is formally closed.