Convicted killer’s writings featured in ‘20/20’ episode on Susan Woods’ murder
Friday’s episode of “20/20” will include excerpts from the personal writings of a man who killed a woman in a seemingly random attack and never explained what drove him to do it.
After 30-year-old Susan Woods was murdered in 1987, police and locals alike believed her estranged husband had committed the crime. But in 2005, DNA evidence identified Woods’ true killer, Joseph Hatley, and sent him to prison.
Although Hatley died before speaking about what led him to commit the murder, “20/20” reports that police found “disturbing” personal writings, in which he confessed to his crimes. His writings have never been fully published, but Friday’s “20/20” will include several excerpts.
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Who was Susan Woods?
According to Texas Monthly, Susan Woods was a quiet woman with an “easy smile.” In 1987, she was going through a divorce and was living alone in Stephenville, Texas.
One day in July 1987, Woods’ supervisor called her father, Joe Atkins, to report she had missed work for the past two days. Atkins visited her house to check up on her and found that Woods had been murdered.
Texas Monthly reported that Woods had been brutally attacked before being strangled and submerged in a bathtub. The killer left plenty of evidence, including fingerprints and palm prints, but limited technology at the time made it impossible to analyze DNA.
Who is Susan Woods’ husband?
After Susan Woods’ body was discovered, the community’s attention turned to her estranged husband, Michael Woods. Texas Monthly reported that their relationship was unstable and that Susan’s family and friends had never approved of Michael.
When Michael moved out, he left a tape recording and handwritten notes in their home that accused Susan of “destroying their marriage,” according to ABC.
But the fingerprints found at the scene were not a match to Michael Woods, per ABC. Nevertheless, he was on the police’s radar and viewed with suspicion by Susan Woods’ family and friends. Michael told ABC he lived with guilt for years.
In 2005, Stephenville police re-examined the case and used new DNA technology to officially clear Michael Woods of playing any part in his wife’s murder, per ABC. Investigators sent the old fingerprints to the state’s fingerprint database and finally got a match: Joseph Scott Hatley.
Who was Joseph Hatley?
Hatley was an acquaintance of Susan Woods who was accused of sexual and physical assault in 1988 but was never charged, per ABC. He initially denied any involvement in Susan Woods’ death, but after his DNA was matched to evidence found at the scene of her murder, he entered a plea deal.
He was sentenced to 30 years in prison but was released in 2018 after serving 11 years, according to ABC. He died three years later and never explained why he had killed Susan Woods, although police found hundreds of pages of his personal writings, which shed some insight into his state of mind, per ABC.
“I wish with all my heart that I could tell you I’ve mourned for what I’d done, but that would be a lie,” one passage says.
How to watch tonight’s ‘20/20’
Friday’s episode of “20/20,” titled “There Is A Monster in Me,” will air on ABC at 7 p.m. MST and will be available for streaming on Hulu beginning Saturday.
