Woman accused of murder says she was protecting son
Prosecuting attorney says there’s no justification for the death
“I did it. I did it. I just wanted him off my son.” —Sherry Lashay Woods
A second day of testimony is expected to begin this morning in the trial of a Texarkana, Ark., woman accused of murder who alleges she acted in defense of her children.
Sherry Lashay Woods, 36, is charged with second-degree murder in the Oct. 5, 2016, stabbing death of 43-year-old Jeffery Baker.
Opening arguments began Monday afternoon before a jury of nine women and three men before Miller County Circuit Judge Brent Haltom.
Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Black told the jury there is no justification for Baker’s murder.
“You will hear a story about a completely senseless loss of life,” Stephanie Black said. “This is not a case of who done it. This is a case of why.”
To a certain extent, Managing Public Defender Jason Mitchell agreed as he had Woods, a petite woman who stands about five feet, stand for the jury.
“No we don’t need to call Scotland Yard or Columbo,” Mitchell told the jury. “When the police arrive Sherry is sitting on the ground and she says, ‘I did it. I did it. I just wanted him off my son.’”
Stephanie Black described Woods as an attacker who continued to inflict stab wounds on Baker as he tried to retreat while Mitchell described Woods as a “mama bear” protecting her children and a friend.
Licensed Professional Nurse Priscilla Newton testified she was on her way to her mother’s home after a day at work when she encountered a large crowd in the middle of Tenth Street. Newton said she was turning her car to take a different route when a boy came to her car and asked if she could help a man lying in the street near the intersection of Tenth and California Streets where Woods lived with her three teen-aged sons.
Newton said she and a police officer attempted to render aid to Baker but that they were unable to do more than apply pressure and wait for paramedics.
“There was a woman screaming, ‘I stabbed him. I stabbed him. He was jumping on my son,’” Newton testified.
Newton said the screaming woman, whom she identified as Woods, was hysterical and described the scene around her as chaotic. Texarkana, Ark., Cpl. Claudia Phelps described Woods as hysterical as well. Phelps said she was unable to find the knife used to stab Baker in the yard where Woods told her it would be but that one of Woods’ sons brought it to her.
A photo of a kitchen butcher knife streaked with blood and flecked with dirt and grass was shown to the jury as crime scene Detective Eric Winters testified. Winters said he individually photographed drops of blood which patrol officer John VanMeter discovered. Winters and VanMeter said the drops led away from the front of Woods’ house and ended with a large pool of blood thatwhich was left after Baker was taken to the local emergency room where he later died.
Members of Baker’s family quickly left the courtroom when a photograph of Baker’s lifeless body was shown. Woods sobbed as Winters and Arkansas State Crime Lab Chief Medical Examiner Charles Kokes testified.
Kokes told the jury that the most severe wound Baker suffered was a deep stab wound to his left shoulder which collapsed his left lung and cut the artery supplying blood to the lung. A stab wound to Baker’s front right chest was serious also, Kokes said, because it could have led to the collapse of Baker’s right lung. Under questioning from Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chuck Black, who is not related to Stephanie Black, Kokes chronicled a number of other non-serious stab wounds to the back of Baker’s neck, cheek and back neck area.
“There was an obvious concerted effort over a period of time to injure him,” Kokes said.
Kokes testified that while Baker, who was 5’8 and less than 200 pounds, tested negatively for illicit drug use, he did have a blood alcohol level of .322, eight times higher than the legal limit for driving. Kokes said the high level of alcohol did not contribute to Baker’s death in terms of blood loss.
The final witness to testify Monday was Woods’ 15-year-old son, who was 14 when Baker died. The teen, who is currentlybeing held in a juvenile detention facility on an aggravated robbery charge, testified that his brother, one year older, came to his room and told him Baker had hit his adult female cousin. The teen gave a confusing account of what occurred between Baker, him, his older brother and his mother in the street where Baker eventually collapsed from blood loss.
Under questioning from Stephanie Black, the teen told the jury he and his brother both threw punches at Baker, that Baker swung at him several times and missed and that Baker landed a punch on his brother. Under questioning from Mitchell, the teen testified that his mother intervened after seeing Baker strike his brother.
Testimony in the case is expected to continue this morning at the Miller County courthouse. If convicted of second-degree murder, Woods could be fined up to $15,000 and faces six to 30 years in an Arkansas prison.