By David Lohr
Court Complaint:
Michelle Stojanik vs
R.E.A.C.H of Jackson County, Inc.
March 22, 2007
SYLVA, N.C. (Crime Library) — Last fall, I brought you the story of John Raymond "Woody" Woodring, a perverted polygamist, conman, and published crime writer, who burst into a domestic violence shelter and murdered his wife, Bonnie Woodring, in cold blood. What followed was a month-long nation-wide manhunt that ended when Woody took his own life. Bonnie's daughter, Michelle Stojanik, has now filed a lawsuit against the shelter, on behalf of her mother's estate.
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| Bonnie and John Woodring |
According to documents filed with the North Carolina Superior Court, the suit alleges that the Reach shelter in Jackson County was negligent and failed to provide adequate security for the premises.
"As a result, the willful, wanton, reckless, grossly negligent and/or negligent acts of defendant (Reach) permitted a condition to exist on the property which posed an unreasonable risk of harm to people like Bonnie Woodring."
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| Woman's Shelter |
In the weeks following Bonnie's murder, many residents complained about the shelter's location and how it was common knowledge to most people in the area. The Citizen-Times also published an article about the shelter's panic buttons. Former employees of the shelter reported that the buttons were known to malfunction, and on some occasions, they did not work at all. These and other issues are also addressed in the court documents.
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| Bonnie Woodring |
"The conditions that posed an unreasonable risk of harm included, but are not limited to, failing to provide adequate security, failing to provide adequate lighting, failing to monitor and maintain a secure environment, failing to provide necessary safeguards to permit tenants to live in safety, failing to have in place mechanisms and procedures that would have made the premises reasonably safe, failing to properly secure and monitor the shelter, and other facts and circumstances."
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