Charles Wooten

Overview

Charles Edward Wooten, born in 1950, is a notorious American serial killer whose life and crimes have shocked the community of Fort Worth, Texas. Wooten was first convicted for two separate murders in 1969 and received a life sentence. However, after being paroled in 1992 due to advocacy from his father, Arlis Wooten, he would, tragically, go on to murder his father in a horrifying act of violence in 1993. This second murder led to another life sentence for Wooten, further cementing his legacy as a figure of infamy in American true crime.

Quick Facts

• Born: 1950 (Age 74-75)
• Location: Hurst, Texas, U.S.
• Convictions:
  • Capital murder
  • Murder with malice (2 counts)
  • Robbery
• Criminal Penalty: Life imprisonment
• Victims: 3
• Span of Crimes: 1969–1993
• Country: United States
• State: Texas
• Date Apprehended: August 3, 1993
• Imprisoned at: J. Dale Wainwright Unit, Lovelady, Texas

The Murders

The First Murders

The story begins in April 1969 when Charles Wooten, then serving a five-year sentence for armed robbery, was paroled after only 18 months. Just a few months later, on September 1, Wooten, alongside a 16-year-old accomplice, targeted a gas station on the North Side of Fort Worth. They abducted 58-year-old attendant Loyd Dewey Choat and cruelly shot him. His body was later discovered in a creek bed near Watauga, leading to a chilling investigation.

Interestingly, rumors circulated that Wooten might have shown the body to two teenage girls, although no solid evidence supported this claim. Initially, law enforcement believed that 18-year-old Stephen James Duffy and 21-year-old Henry W. Baldwin were the culprits behind Choat's murder. However, the case took a dramatic turn when Wooten committed a second murder just months later.

On November 6, 1969—coincidentally, the day of his bachelor party—Wooten, along with his brother-in-law Michael Wayne Bush and friend Gerald Ross Weatherly, decided to rob another gas station. This time, they targeted 26-year-old David Daniels, who was working the night shift. The robbery turned into a brutal scene as Wooten viciously stabbed Daniels 36 times before fleeing the scene.

Initially, law enforcement viewed the murders of Choat and Daniels as separate incidents. However, everything changed when Wooten was arrested on December 20, 1969, after an attempted robbery at a grocery store where his father worked. The underage accomplice later implicated Wooten in Choat's murder, followed by Bush and Weatherly, who connected him to Daniels' death. Consequently, Wooten was held without bond on two counts of capital murder, while charges against Duffy and Baldwin were dropped.

While awaiting trial, Wooten made a bizarre claim about having shot a young blonde woman, but he couldn't recall any details about the incident, leading investigators to dismiss it as a hoax. On May 26, 1970, in a strategic move to avoid the death penalty, Wooten pleaded guilty to both murders, receiving two consecutive life sentences. Additionally, he was sentenced to life for the grocery store robbery, making it clear that this was an individual with a dangerous pattern of violence.

Patricide

Fast forward more than two decades later, and Wooten's life took another dark twist. His father, Arlis, conducted several high-profile interviews, claiming Charles had confided in him about being "haunted [...] by dreams of murder and mayhem." Over the next 23 years, Arlis tirelessly wrote letters to the parole board, pleading for his son's early release. Remarkably, Wooten earned a master's degree in humanities while incarcerated and became a skilled leather worker, even selling his crafts through a local grocery store. Yet, he continued to deny any guilt, maintaining that he had been framed.

In May 1992, Wooten was granted parole and moved into his father's apartment in Azle. Initially, he seemed to be turning his life around, getting a job as a carpet cleaner and leather craftsman. However, this façade crumbled on July 29, 1993, when a heated argument between Wooten and his father escalated into violence. Wooten shot Arlis in the head, then horrifically dismembered the body and disposed of the remains by setting them ablaze in a remote field.

Arlis's disappearance was reported a few days later by one of his other sons, prompting an investigation. Authorities discovered charred human limbs scattered in the area, later identified as belonging to Arlis Wooten. There were unconfirmed reports of a local youth witnessing a man putting a body in a trunk, but this information was overlooked at the time.

Arrest, Trial, and Imprisonment

On August 3, 1993, Wooten was arrested as a suspect in his father's murder, alongside alleged accomplices Titus Henry Hill and Michelle Ann Matl. When brought to the crime scene, investigators noted his complete lack of emotion—a chilling detail that would haunt the trial. During the proceedings in June 1995, prosecutors suggested that Wooten killed his father to collect on a life insurance policy, but they struggled to present compelling evidence to support this theory.

Ultimately, Wooten pleaded guilty, and the court sentenced him to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after serving 35 years. This outcome disappointed many family members, who had hoped for a death sentence in retribution for Arlis's murder.

As of June 2023, Wooten is still incarcerated at the J. Dale Wainwright Unit in Lovelady, Texas, with a projected parole date in 2028.

Sources

• Domingo Ramirez Jr. (June 10, 1995). "Ex-Hurst man gets life term in father's slaying". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 31. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
• Adren Etheridge (December 30, 1969). "Police Name Hurst Man In 2 Slayings". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 2. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
• "Youth, 19, Is Charged in Choat Death". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. December 29, 1969. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
• Adren Etheridge (December 30, 1969). "Police Name Hurst Man In 2 Slayings". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 1. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
• "Man, 20, Admits Part in Murders". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. May 27, 1970. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
• "Shooting of Woman By Wooten Doubted". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. January 1, 1970. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
• Hollace Weiner (August 4, 1993). "Paroled slayer arrested, accused of killing father". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 43. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
• Hollace Weiner (August 4, 1993). "Paroled slayer arrested, accused of killing father". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 38. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
• Domingo Ramirez Jr. (June 10, 1995). "Ex-Hurst man gets life term in father's slaying". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 32. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

For more information, you can also refer to the original Wikipedia article here.