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McCandless and
Woodworth in the middle of a conversation. He walked back outside to wait for them to finish talking and was met by the Eau Claire police. Mengel explained to the officers that he was there because he was concerned about McCandless, as âshe was not acting like herselfâ. In police dash cam footage, an officer can then be seen speaking to Woodworth outside of his house, who is standing next to McCandlessâs car. McCandless was sitting in her car in the drivers seat, but is not visible in the video. At about 1:05 pm, satisfied that there was not a problem, the officers and Mengel left. This was the last time he saw Woodworth alive.
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from when she was first interviewed, to the trial. She initially stated âAnd I cut my hand, because I kept trying to grab him. And then I finally got free, and I finally got the knife away from himâ. She later said at the trial, âI decided then to knee him in the groin, and he drops the knife at that point. Instantly, I grab the knife. I started stabbing him anywhere and everywhere I couldâ. McCandless claimed that
Woodworth had attacked her in the back seat of her car, however most of the blood evidence at the scene was found outside of the car. In an interview, prior to Alexâs body being found, she had said that the incident happened at
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446:. Her name at birth was Monica Kay. Her biological father was not a part of her life. Her motherâs partner, Joshane Karlen, adopted McCandless when she was four years old. They divorced when Ezra was 12 years old, but she continued to have a close relationship with her adoptive father. During high school, she decided to try out different names and
479:. When he returned, the pair would meet at hotels. During one of the hotel stays, Mengel read messages on McCandlessâs phone and found out about her relationships with both Woodworth and Mr. J Hansen, accusing Hansen of sexual assault. Mengel confronted both Hansen and Woodworth. The three men had a public argument at a coffee shop in Eau Claire.
338:. She was seen on the coffee shop's security footage. Mengel later mentioned that McCandless had seemed agitated. McCandless left the coffee shop and went to visit Woodworth at his house, as she claimed she had some items to return to him. Mengel said that he felt there was something odd about the way she was acting and things she had said.
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McCandless took
Woodworthâs phone when she left the scene. The prosecution alleged this was to leave him no means of being able to contact anyone, had he been able to. They also said McCandless had stabbed Woodworth in hopes of preventing him getting in the way of her rekindling her relationship with
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McCandless blamed
Woodworth for the ending of her relationship with Mengel. On February 24, 2018, McCandless sent a text message to Woodworth telling him to not talk to her ever again. McCandless continued to talk with Mengel. She sent him journals in which she expressed her upset at having betrayed
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The trial started on
October 15, 2019, at the Dunn County Judicial Center, 18 months after the stabbing. At the trial, the prosecution highlighted the inconsistencies in McCandlessâs stories and the crime scene. She was unable to recall what had happened when first interviewed, and told officers and
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Detectives were unable to find
Woodworth that night. The next day while searching around the dairy farm, officers saw footprints in the mud on the ground. They then found Woodworth's body hanging out of the back of McCandlessâs 2003 Chevy Impala on a dirt road, near the farmhouse. He had suffered 16
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officers told her that they had found her car and Alexâs body, she eventually said that he had attacked her, and said she had not been able to get it out of her head. She claimed he had also carved âBOYâ into her arm, which she later admitted was her own doing. She changed her story of the attack
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of Alex
Woodworth. McCandlessâs mother, Roselenna Gunelson, pleaded with the court to grant her daughter the possibility to petition for parole after 20 years. Woodworthâs aunt, Crystal Hall, said in her impact statement at the sentencing, âthroughout the trial we never saw any sign of sadness,
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outside, the car's engine still running. While waiting for McCandless, he was seen outside pacing back and forth by a passerby, who thought it looked suspicious and phoned the police. After waiting for around 45 minutes, Mengel went inside the house without knocking. He stated that he found
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Towards the end of summer 2017, she met Jason Mengel, a 33-year-old
National Guard medic. The two embarked on a romantic relationship and moved in together in August 2017. Around the same time, McCandless met 23-year-old barista and substitute teacher Alex Woodworth at a coffee house.
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In early fall 2017, she found out she was pregnant with Mengelâs child. She drove to
Minneapolis to have an abortion, and had the procedure done on October 6, 2017, which was also her birthday. Not long after, she began a secret romantic relationship with Woodworth.
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Dr. Tillotson, who had treated McCandless in the ER and assessed her injuries, testified that her knife wounds appeared to have the characteristics of self-inflicted wounds. He also said she had trouble recalling what had happened, and had asked for Jason Mengel.
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The defense claimed that
Woodworth was angry that McCandless did not want to be with him. Her defense attorney stated that she was fighting for her life after Woodworth forced himself upon her, and then attacked her.
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She was taken to a local hospital, where she asked for Jason Mengel. She initially told officers, paramedics and hospital staff that she could not remember what had happened.
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The knife used to kill Woodworth was confirmed to be from McCandlessâs fatherâs house. Her father, Joshane, stated at the trial he had previously given his daughter knives.
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On November 1, 2019, McCandless was convicted of first degree intentional homicide in the stabbing death of 24-year-old Woodworth. She was held at
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Two weeks after Alex Woodworth was found dead, on April 6, 2018, McCandless was arrested and charged with first-degree intentional homicide.
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In mid-February 2018, while Mengel was away on two weeks of National Guard duty, McCandless moved back to her mother's house in
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On March 22, 2018, McCandless turned up unannounced and saw ex-boyfriend Jason Mengel at Racy D'Lenes Coffee Lounge in
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On February 7, 2020, McCandless was sentenced to life in prison, with eligibility for parole after 50 years, for the
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On March 22, 2018, Alex Woodworth was stabbed 16 times in the head, neck, groin and torso in Ezra McCandless' car in
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him. She had wanted to deliver them to him herself, but he refused, and asked her to send them by other means.
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She testified that she had stabbed him in self-defense, and she just wanted to try and get away.
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paramedics that arrived at the farm that she could not remember. In a recorded interview, after
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A few hours later, about 4:15 pm, McCandless knocked on the door of dairy farmer Don Sipple, in
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Mengel rode his bike to Woodworthâs house in an attempt to find McCandless and spotted her 2003
1185:"10/23/19 WI v. McCandless: Defendant's Ex-Boyfriend Testifies About Sex, Abortion and Assault"
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946:"Ezra McCandless sentenced to life in prison with possibility for parole after 50 years"
868:"11/1/19 WI v. McCandless: Prosecution Delivers Closing Argument PT 2: State's Motive"
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847:"10/21/19 WI v. McCandless: Doctor Says Defendant's Knife Wounds were Self-Inflicted"
450:. She then legally changed her name to Ezra McCandless. She chose McCandless after
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Ezra J. McCandless was born October 6, 1997 to 14-year-old Roselenna Gunelson, in
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stab wounds to his head, neck, groin and torso. The car was stuck in the dirt.
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920:"Menomonie woman convicted of killing ex-boyfriend, carving 'boy' in her arm"
1111:"2/7/20 WI v. McCandless Sentencing: Victim's Family Give Impact Statements"
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shame, compassion, or the slight bit of remorse for what you had doneâ.
326:. McCandless was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2020 for the murder.
616:"10/24/19 Defendant's Ex-Boyfriend Says He 'Never Stopped Loving Her'"
1090:"2/7/20 WI v. McCandless Sentencing: Ezra's Mother Takes the Stand"
637:"10/17/19 WI v. McCandless: Police Dash Cam Footage Shown in Court"
826:"10/23/19 WI v. McCandless: Defendant's Adoptive Father Testifies"
510:"Why was the word "boy" carved into the arm of an accused killer?"
1135:"Pretty in pink: DA says murder suspect "put on a show" at trial"
1018:"Wisconsin woman guilty of stabbing lover to death sentenced"
970:"Wisconsin woman convicted in stabbing death of ex-boyfriend"
757:"4/15/20 Convicted Murderer Ezra McCandless Seeking Retrial"
733:"10/28/19 WI v. McCandless: Defendant Cross Examination PT1"
661:"10/29/19 WI v. McCandless: Defendant Cross Examination PT2"
460:. After she dropped out of college she moved to the city of
805:"Mud and murder: Inside the Ezra McCandless investigation"
778:"Woman accused of fatally stabbing ex-boyfriend testifies"
568:"10/15/19 WI v. McCandless: Prosecution Opening Statement"
896:"10/15/19 WI v. McCandless: Defense Opening Statement"
534:"10/21/19 WI v. McCandless: A Look at the Crime Scene"
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454:, whose life is the subject of the book and film
1157:"Ezra McCandless sentenced to life in prison"
1065:"Ezra McCandless sentenced to life in prison"
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592:"10/16/19 WI v. McCandless: Key Players"
1232:Deaths by stabbing in the United States
944:Payson, Annemarie; Postlewait, Denton.
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1227:March 2018 crimes in the United States
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682:"11/1/19 WI v. McCandless: Rebuttal"
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994:"11/1/19 WI v. McCandless: Verdict"
428:Taycheedah Correctional Institution
307:Taycheedah Correctional Institution
703:"WI v. McCandless: Latest Updates"
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1217:2018 murders in the United States
426:She is currently incarcerated at
420:first-degree intentional homicide
263:First degree intentional homicide
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415:, until her sentencing date.
27:2018 murder in Wisconsin, US
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149:St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin
1137:. CBS News. February 2020
403:Conviction and sentencing
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62:Spring Brook (Wisconsin)
33:Murder of Alex Woodworth
324:Spring Brook, Wisconsin
74:Spring Brook, Wisconsin
1039:"Woman stabs ex lover"
432:Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
311:Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
1161:FOX2548 & WIProud
1069:FOX2548 & WIProud
462:Eau Claire, Wisconsin
275:(minimum of 50 years)
782:The Washington Times
413:Menomonie, Wisconsin
169:Cause of death
477:Stanley, Wisconsin
444:Stanley, Wisconsin
303:Imprisoned at
217:Stanley, Wisconsin
190:Ezra J. McCandless
119:Ezra J. McCandless
1212:2018 in Wisconsin
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273:Life imprisonment
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164:(aged 24)
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257:Conviction(s)
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236:Monica Karlen
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212:(age 26)
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1189:. Retrieved
1165:. Retrieved
1163:. 2020-02-07
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1071:. 2020-02-07
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926:. 2019-11-02
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351:Spring Brook
348:
343:Chevy Impala
340:
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245:Incarcerated
162:(2018-03-22)
56:Spring Brook
924:Twin Cities
374:Dunn County
225:Nationality
116:Perpetrator
89:Attack type
1206:Categories
1191:2022-01-19
1187:. Court TV
1167:2022-01-19
1117:2022-01-19
1113:. Court TV
1096:2022-01-19
1092:. Court TV
1075:2022-01-19
1024:2022-01-19
1020:. Court TV
1000:2022-01-19
996:. Court TV
979:2022-01-19
974:WMTV NBC15
955:2022-01-19
930:2022-01-19
902:2022-01-19
898:. Court TV
874:2022-01-19
870:. Court TV
853:2022-01-19
849:. Court TV
832:2022-01-19
828:. Court TV
811:2022-01-19
807:. CBS News
787:2022-01-19
763:2022-01-19
759:. Court TV
739:2022-01-19
735:. Court TV
709:2022-01-19
705:. Court TV
688:2022-01-19
684:. Court TV
667:2022-01-19
663:. Court TV
643:2022-01-19
639:. Court TV
622:2022-01-19
618:. Court TV
598:2022-01-19
594:. Court TV
574:2022-01-19
570:. Court TV
540:2022-01-19
536:. Court TV
516:2022-01-19
512:. CBS News
487:References
336:Eau Claire
206:1997-10-06
200:Monica Kay
141:1994-01-01
950:WEAU News
379:Owen Park
1141:July 25,
1049:July 26,
448:pronouns
392:Mengel.
228:American
94:Homicide
70:Location
285:Victims
280:Details
1043:People
330:Murder
219:, U.S.
172:Murder
151:, U.S.
108:Victim
100:Weapon
103:Knife
1143:2020
1051:2020
196:Born
157:Died
135:Born
80:Date
430:in
411:in
309:in
1208::
1176:^
1159:.
1126:^
1067:.
1041:.
1009:^
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