CRIME

Man pleads guilty to two murders in Petersburg from 2017, receives life sentences

Sean Jones
The Progress-Index

PETERSBURG – Tony Woodard last saw his mother on January 1, 2017. He came back to Petersburg on a break from his post with the U.S. Military. The Woodard dinner table was always cherished by the 60-plus person family because of the food cooked by its matriarch, Minnie Woodard. 

Tony Woodard didn’t have any idea that his mother would be murdered 16 days later, when she and her husband would be abducted from their home. 

Kristopher Jones, now 38, was arrested in 2017 for the murder of Minnie Woodard – and his girlfriend Janice Lugo. Jones was convicted by a Petersburg Circuit Court judge for both killings last week after a five-year legal battle.

Jones was given two first-degree murder convictions for the killings of Minnie Woodard and Lugo, including two life sentences, one for each of those crimes. He was also found guilty of an additional 14 charges related to the abduction and robbery of Minnie Woodard and her husband Alfred. Jones ultimately pleaded guilty to 14 charges of which he was accused. Five other related charges were dismissed. 

On Jan 17, 2017, Jones abducted Minnie Woodard and Alfred from their Jefferson Street home in Petersburg. He drove the couple to an ATM in Dinwiddie in an attempt to steal money from them. When that ATM wouldn’t work, he drove them to a Bank of America S. Crater Road. There, Alfred Woodard was able to escape and alert the authorities. Police chased Jones across the city into Dinwiddie County where they lost track of him. Minnie Woodard was still a hostage. 

The Fugitive Task Force captured Jones two days later in Norfolk. Jones led them to a house in South Chesterfield where he had hidden Minnie Woodard’s body. The body of Jones’ girlfriend had been found inside of his apartment on Jefferson Street the day before. 

The case’s proceedings were expected to end with a five-day jury trial until late in the process, when Jones decided to plead guilty. The years-long legal battle had been set for trial on at least three occasions before the final outcome of last week’s sentencing hearing. 

“We’ve been in and out of court for five years. We were waiting for a trial with a jury, and then to get a plea deal saying he’s guilty, it feels like it could have happened a whole lot sooner,” said Tony Woodard after the hearing. “Maybe its relief, I don’t know, but I think this starts the process. Now our collective families in our personal lives, can move on.” 

Over 20 of Minnie Woodard’s family members showed up to the hearing. Five addressed the court. Minnie Woodard was part of a large family – the oldest of 14 siblings, she was revered for raising many of her siblings. She also had five children of her own. 

Family members’ testimonies remembered their sister, mother and grandmother as the nucleus of their gatherings. Not only was she an important head of the family, she was also important to her local faith community. 

Few words were uttered from Jones’ mouth during the hearing. When the judge asked him questions about his understanding of the trial, he answered “yes” in a muted tone. When asked for his plea on each of the charges, he said “guilty” low enough that it was near impossible to hear. He sat still, head leaned back and mouth agape as family members testified about the loss of Minnie Woodard. 

When asked by the court if he had anything he wanted to say about his convictions, Jones declined. 

One family member expressed a desire to hear some amount of remorse from Jones during the hearing. Tony Woodard said he had low expectations of getting any closure from Jones. 

“I really didn’t think we would hear from him. Just because of saying ‘I’m guilty’ he admitted fault for what happened. Now he’s going to have a long time to think about his actions,” Tony Woodard said. “... I had a moment where I looked into his eyes and he looked down. Looking down was that remorse, it was that shame it was that guilt.” 

He says he gave his testimony to the court as a way to show Jones exactly what was taken from the family. 

Tony Woodard said that moving on will be difficult. While there is a lot to be proud of – his daughter starts college this year, a niece is going to Yale for her master’s degree and a nephew is starting medical school – he’s sad that Minnie Woodard isn’t there to celebrate these accomplishments. 

“She loved her grandchildren, she just loved them,” Tony Woodard said. “This family, this love, the talks, it all helps bridge the gap from this loss. It’s one day at a time.”