Two sets of cigarette butts and bar glasses indicated where Ann Woodward, co-owner of Woody’s Tavern, sat with someone around closing time on a Friday night in 1973.
On the morning of March 3, 1973, the 46-year-old mother was discovered on the floor of her bar. She had been robbed, assaulted and strangled. Police and sheriff’s officials at the time collected evidence and identified men who had been at the bar that night, but they never arrested her killer.
Moab Police Detective Jeremy Drexler took on the case after he joined the department. He sent evidence, including cigarette butts and Woodward’s clothing, to be tested for DNA with advanced techniques at the state crime lab. Drexler reexamined suspects considered in the case over the years. These suspects included serial killer Ted Bundy, who was active in Utah at the time.
This morning, the Moab City Police Department was confidently identified Douglas K. Chudomelka as the man who attacked and murdered Ann. Chudomelka was a local mine worker who had been at the bar that night.
“I truly believe that had this case been presented to jury, he would have been found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt for the murder of Ann Woodward,” Grand County Attorney Stephen Stocks said at a press conference on June 28, 2024.
Chudomelka worked as a truck driver before dying in 2002. Officials said they will enter Chudomelka’s DNA into the CODIS system after the case is officially closed. This will allow law enforcement agencies across the country to discover any other crimes he may have committed that have gone unsolved.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more facts emerge.
