MENOMONIE, Wis. (Court TV Staff/Associated Press) — Ezra McCandless was sentenced to spend life in prison with eligibility for supervised release after fifty years for the first-degree murder of Alex Woodworth.
Ezra McCandless stood in court during her sentencing for murder. (Court TV)
Judge James M. Peterson handed down the sentence after a jury convicted McCandless of murdering 24-year-old Woodworth on March 22, 2018, in the town of Spring Brook. McCandless claimed at trial that she acted in self-defense, while prosecutors said she intentionally lured Woodworth to his death to rid herself of inner turmoil.
The tangled web that led to Woodworth’s death reportedly began in November 2017, when McCandless, who occasionally identifies as male, began having a sexual relationship with the victim. During that time, the defendant was dating serviceman Jason Mengal. She reportedly had an abortion sometime between then and February 2018.
In February 2018, Mengal left for two weeks for military training. Over those two weeks, McCandless claims she continued her affair with Woodworth and was raped twice by Mengal’s best friend, John Hansen.
When Mengal returned, he reportedly became furious at McCandless’s allegations and filed a police report against Hansen. Woodworth was interviewed as part of the police investigation. He told authorities McCandless confided in him she willingly had sex with Hansen and later regretted it. The investigation was ultimately closed.
On March 22, McCandless reportedly drove to Woodworth’s home to officially end their relationship and return some of his things. The two went for a drive, which McCandless claims is when Woodworth became angry after she told him she wanted to be with Mengal.
After stabbing Woodworth, the defendant ran to a nearby property. The homeowner called the police when a bloody, muddy McCandless came to his door.
McCandless was charged with first-degree intentional homicide on April 6. She pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, which she ultimately withdrew.
Prosecutors claimed by murdering Woodworth, “the defendant was taking control of her life by seeking out (the victim) to permanently remove the bad memories of their relationship and abortion, the guilt of her infidelity with John Hansen, and here associations as a male in their relationship.”
McCandless was named Monica Karlen until 2015. She occasionally identifies as male.
Ahead of her Feb. 7, 2020 sentencing date, McCandless and her family set up a GoFundMe campaign to fund her appeal. Her previously private Instagram account has also been made public, featuring artwork she drew during her trial.
