Ohio BCI, Dayton police partner on cold case homicide of 85-year-old veteran of 3 wars
Nov. 7—An 85-year-old Dayton man who was a respected community member and decorated veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam died in a violent home invasion more than 15 years ago.
At the request of the Dayton Police Department, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is conducting a cold case review of the unsolved homicide of U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. (Ret.) North E. Woodall, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Thursday.
"The military has an ethos that you don't leave a teammate behind," Yost said. "We're hoping on Veterans Day that someone remembers something — they heard something or saw something — and will reach out to help us get justice for this American hero."
Woodall, a decorated veteran of World War II and the Vietnam and Korean wars, was killed July 27, 2009, inside his house in the 1000 block of Walton Avenue. Even though authorities collected fingerprints and DNA from the scene, the case went cold.
DNA from the crime scene has been submitted to CODIS, the FBI's national Combined DNA Index System, in hopes of finding a matching profile.
"All murders and deaths are tragedies, but this one in particular considering what Mr. Woodall had been through in his life, having served our country," Dayton Police Maj. Brian Johns said. "Especially around Veterans Day, I would love to solve this case for Mr. Woodall, and for his family."
According to Dayton Daily News archives, Woodall grew up in Mississippi and was the grandson of a slave. He was drafted into the Army, where he became a decorated paratrooper and was promoted to sergeant major. He also was a husband and father to six children.
The recipient of two Silver Stars, Woodall had just returned in late June from an Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C., where he and other veterans traveled in an RV to visit war memorials. He served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam before retiring as an E-9 sergeant major, U.S. Army Special Forces, also known as a Green Beret.
A woman who checked on Woodall around 11:30 p.m. July 27, 2009, saw the front door of his house kicked in. She went inside and found Woodall on the floor of his living room, police said. Family members had visited with him until about 9:30 p.m. the night he was killed, and a neighbor saw his house for about 20 minutes afterward while watering flowers on her porch. Police believe the home invasion happened sometime between 10 and 11:30 p.m.
Woodall died of blunt force trauma to the head, but it remains unclear whether Woodall was struck by an intruder or fell and struck his head during a struggle.
Because of his stature in the community, people trusted Woodall to hold their Social Security money and dole it out in increments so they would not deplete their funds before getting their next deposit, police said.
He was known to have large amounts of cash in his left front pants pocket and also in a box in a dresser drawer in his bedroom. At the time of his death, police found Woodall's left front pants pocket pulled out and one drawer pulled out in his room.
Anyone with information can call the Dayton Police Department at 937-333-COPS (2677) or the Ohio BCI at 855-BCI-OHIO (224-6446).
