A woman testified Thursday at a sentencing hearing for her husband, who was convicted of domestic aggravated assault for pouring hot grease on her and severely injuring her in 2015.
Kendall Woodson, 39, was convicted by a jury Tuesday night. His wife, Anita Taylor, returned to Greenwood from Iowa to testify.
Judge Carol White-Richard told the court she will hear from witnesses for the defense at an upcoming hearing and will then hand down a sentence.
Attorney Deshandra Ross represents Woodson. Assistant District Attorneys Tim Jones and Trish Rogers are prosecuting.
Charges against Woodson were upgraded to attempted first-degree murder when he was indicted by a grand jury last February, but White-Richard allowed the lesser included offense of aggravated assault to be considered by jurors.
Domestic aggravated assault carries a maximum penalty in Mississippi of 20 years in the custody of the Department of Corrections. Had he been convicted of attempted first-degree murder, Woodson could have been sentenced to 20 to 40 years or life in prison.
The assault occurred at the Delta Trailer Park, where Woodson and Taylor lived with their three children. Woodson and his wife had been married for 20 years.
Sheriff Ricky Banks told the Commonwealth that his department was notified by Woodson’s daughter in a 911 call made while she was driving her mother to the hospital on Aug. 6, 2015. Taylor was later transferred to Central Mississippi Medical Center’s burn unit.
Sheriff’s deputies responded immediately in pursuit of Woodson, but by the time they arrived at the trailer park, he had fled.
Woodson was captured in Oklahoma by U.S. Marshals with assistance from the Leflore County Sheriff’s Department a few weeks later. He was arraigned in federal court in Oklahoma City and extradited back to Leflore County to face charges.
Woodson pleaded not guilty to aggravated assault charges at his arraignment in January 2015.
District Attorney Dewayne Richardson reported that Taylor, who then called herself Mrs. Woodson, told deputies at the hospital that she and her husband had been arguing for days when she finally decided to move out. But before she could leave, she said, Woodson began arguing with her again and then assaulted her before throwing hot grease onto her face and chest.
The oil burned most of her torso, according to an earlier Commonwealth report, and she suffered burns of varying degrees on her head, chest, stomach and arms. She left the state after being treated for several weeks in the burn unit.
In a press release on Wednesday, Richardson commended the Leflore County Sheriff’s Department for “their tireless efforts in seeking justice in this case.”
• Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
