INVESTIGATION CONTINUES — Law enforcement officers investigate the scene near Farm Road 3259 after a person possibly involved in a shooting that resulted in two deaths in Cottondale Friday was found dead from an apparent gun shot wound in a vehicle in Paradise. JILLIAN NACHTIGAL/WCMESSENGER
Three people were shot and killed Friday afternoon in the Cottondale and Paradise areas in what appears to be a domestic incident.
Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin said deputies responded to a home in Cottondale around 4:45 p.m. Friday after receiving a third-party call about two people who were possibly shot at the location and another person who might have been involved leaving the scene.
“We sent deputies to the home who found two people inside who were deceased,” Akin said, describing the location of the home as “Cottondale proper.”
On Sunday afternoon, Akin identified the two as Debra Woods, 65, and her son, Joseph Woods, 32.
Deputies began looking for a vehicle matching the description of the possible suspect, and a deputy located the white, Dodge pickup in Paradise and conducted a traffic stop just east of the railroad tracks on Farm Road 3259.
“By the time our deputies got up to the door, he (the driver) too was shot. It appears that it was self-inflicted,” the sheriff said.
That man was identified Sunday as Ernest Woods, 81, who is the husband of Debra and the father of Joseph. Public records indicate Ernest and Debra Woods own a home in the 6700 block of Farm Road 2123 in Cottondale.
Akin said a handgun was recovered in Ernest Woods’ truck.
All three bodies have been sent to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsies.
The sheriff said investigators are still trying to determine the motive behind the shootings.
“It’s still under investigation, but we don’t feel like there is any concern for the community as far as anyone else who might have been involved — we think these were the only three involved. It’s a sad situation,” he said.
Akin said Tuesday that investigators had learned that the family was preparing to sell the house in Cottondale, “and there was apparently angst among the family” of selling the home and moving to Justin, but he didn’t know if this apparent conflict was the motive behind the shooting.
FM 3259 in Paradise was shut down for several hours Friday evening as investigators worked the crime scene in addition to the crime scene in Cottondale.
Akin said a Texas Ranger is assisting investigators at the sheriff’s office on the case.
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