Susan Woods’ naked body was found with her head in a bathtub full of black water in 1987. In her small town of Stephenville, Texas, her murder was especially shocking and unimaginable. Susan was a softspoken and beautiful young woman, living alone since her biker husband had left her and fled the state. When she missed her shift at the local sandpaper factory, her father was notified.  Sadly, he would be the one to find her body.

Join us at the quiet end for Not the Usual Suspect. Murders were very rare in Stephenville, and Susan’s case was the worst anyone there had seen. Since there was no sign of forced entry, detectives believed that Susan had known her killer. Suspicions quickly turned to her estranged husband, Michael. When he left Susan, he had left behind a cassette tape disparaging her for destroying their marriage. His anger frightened her, so nearly everyone thought he was responsible. But the case went cold, and Susan’s loved ones feared no one would ever be held responsible for her brutal murder. Until DNA testing changed everything.

Sources

The 1987 murder of Susan Woods, a Stephenville sweetheart, Brooklyn McKinney, 11/8/2024, retrieved 2/12/2025.

Everyone in Stephenville Thought They Knew Who Killed Susan Woods, Texas Monthly, Bryan Burrough, 7/2023, retrieved 2/12/2025.

The Monster at Large, Dateline NBC, S29 E 31, 2/12/2021.

Stephenville Podcast, Texas Monthly, June-July 2023.There is a Monster in Me, 20/20, ABC, S47 E15, 1/19/2024.