EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — Nearly four decades after the Northeast El Paso desert killings, convicted murderer David Leonard Wood will be allowed to seek new DNA testing as part of his appeal in the 1987 killings of several girls.
As KFOX14/CBS4 previously reported, Wood was convicted in 1992 for the murder of 24-year-old Ivy Susana Williams and the murders of five other women found in the Northeast El Paso desert between June and August of 1987.
Wood was scheduled for the lethal execution more than three decades after a series of brutal murders shook the Borderland. However, in March 2025, Wood’s execution was blocked by the Texas appeals court.
According to El Paso Matters, on Friday, retired Judge Dick Alcalá granted the request to seek new DNA testing despite earlier court rulings that denied the additional testing.
The granted request comes as DNA testing was not widely used at the time of Wood’s trial. According to El Paso Matters, three items were tested in 2011, including one test that excluded Wood as a DNA contributor, while other results were inconclusive.
The judge now wants the defense and prosecution to identify what material should be tested by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Previously, about 90 pieces of evidence were believed to contain possible biological material.
RECOMMENDED: David Leonard Wood execution blocked by Texas appeals court
Sign up to receive the top interesting stories from in and around our community once daily in your inbox.