A New Witness Shares a Surprising Theory

Listen to the full series.

Episode 2 of “The Last 12 Weeks,” a podcast from The Marshall Project, Serial Productions and The New York Times, follows a group of lawyers as they look for new evidence to undermine the case against their client, David Wood.

The state’s only physical evidence against Wood, for a series of six murders in 1987, consisted of fibers found at both a crime scene and his home. The rest of the case against him at trial focused on witnesses who claimed they saw him — or someone who looked like him — with the victims.

One might think that the lack of direct evidence against Wood would be a good thing for the defense. Yet, with no shiny piece of evidence to knock down, the lawyers just have a bunch of little threads to pull at.

With less than two months until the execution, the lawyers’ search leads them to new witnesses — and a series of revelations.

Cheryl Vasquez, who disappeared the same summer as the “Desert Killer” victims, worked at this Whataburger in El Paso. Desiree Rios for The New York Times

Naomi Fenwick, an attorney who works at the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Dallas, is one of David Wood’s lawyers. Desiree Rios for The New York Times

Vasquez was last seen at this Circle K convenience store in El Paso. Paul Ratje for The New York Times