ROY ARNOLD WOOD

1923- 1949

Little has been said about Roy Wood,  but recently I received a photo from the graveyard
at Bethel Church and a relative's report of a class project  as part of a  class in genealogy
  regarding her ancestors. This relative is an attorney who is also pursing  a Master's Degree
 in Library Science.  Below is a report of  facts she found  in court records and newspaper
reports from the archives of the Baltimore Sun regarding Roy. Other facts were obtained
from records from the Baltimore Police Department regarding Officer Benedict.
 

                                        It was a cold winter morning, about 3:15AM, on Friday, February 13, 1948 in Baltimore, Maryland when Roy A Wood
                                        entered a Sun taxi-cab driven by Howard P. Prough.  Roy pulled a 38 caliber pistol and demanded driver Prough
                                        give him his money ($18) and then told Mr. Prough to exit the cab, with Roy driving to another location and then abandoning
                                        the stolen cab.  Mr. Prough flagged a police car and reported the incident.  In the meantime, Roy had entered another Sun
                                        taxi-cab driven by Michael J. Kuczak and asked to be taken to another location.  As this taxi was stopped at a traffic
                                        light, Sergeant Mann and officer Benedict pulled along side the driver and asked if everything was OK.  Roy pulled his gun and
                                        instructed the driver to proceed, the taxi stalled and the 2 officers surrounded the cab.  Roy opened the door and tried to run,
                                        running into Officer Benedict, shot him, and continued to run. Officer Joseph D. Benedict died within minutes of being shot.
                                        Officer Benedict did not have a gun in his hands when he was shot.   Roy  had a prior arrest for auto theft, along with 2 others,
                                        in November 1943.
                                     

                                        Roy had a girlfriend, Mary Bates Tolliver, about  30 years old, a widow whose husband died a year earlier while serving
                                        on a merchant ship near Cuba and they had a daughter, age 14 months at the time of this incident.  Roy met Mary at a Colt
                                        football game that past September.  Roy was a bricklayer and Mary was an inspector at Western Electric Company.  
                                        Police received tips that lead to Roy as a suspect and a photo of Roy and Mary found in Roy's residence  led to Mary
                                        being questioned and later to her agreeing to cooperate in Roy's apprehension.  Roy and Mary had a date that Sunday, meeting
                                        downtown, with police setting up  a large police trap, and with Mary dropping her purse to signal it was Roy that was with her.
                                        Roy was arrested for possession of a firearm on his person .  It was later learned that Roy had committed 2 additional armed
                                        robberies just hours prior to meeting Mary this day. 
                                  

                                        With Roy's arrest, he was subject to police lineups with victims of other crimes which  identified him.  Mary visited Roy in jail
                                        bringing him cigarettes,  sweets, and magazines. She even attempted to get him a lawyer. She said it not was like Roy
                                        to do these crimes as he was always a gentleman around her and treated her with great respect.

                                        On March 12, 1948 Roy was tried before a three judge court without a jury and found guilty of 1st degree murder and
                                        later sentenced to death by hanging.   He took the stand in his own defense and admitted to all charges.  He stated he used a
                                        gun to only scare people and never intended to shoot anyone.  On the morning he killed Officer Benedict he was reportedly
                                        running from the taxi, slipped on the icy street, collided with Benedict who grabbed him, was panic stricken even to the point of not
                                        remembering shooting him. The case went on appeal using issues like premeditation, but the higher court affirmed the
                                        lower court decision on December 9, 1948. Roy had denied the legal charge of "murder".

                                        In March 23, 1948, while in jail, he attempted suicide by hanging using his necktie and bed sheets.  Guards intervened
                                        with a struggle and placed him in a restraining jacket. He was later transferred to the prison's death house and was found dead
                                        by suicide (cut his throat with a razor blade) on July 10, 1949,  2 hours before  his scheduled execution. Father Ayd, his prison
                                        Chaplin, said he baptized him on July 6th.   Father Ayd described his depression by his refusing to eat or communicate with
                                        others. His parents had made a final plea to the Governor. 
 

                                        Summarized by Jack F Wood