DELAWARE COUNTY, Ind. — The Indiana Court of Appeals denied an appeal by Jess David Woods in his murder-for-hire conviction.
On May 13, 1993, Woods shot and killed Teresa French, a mother of three young children. Prosecutors said she begged for her life, screaming out for her babies as Woods pulled the trigger.
Woods was hired to kill Teresa by her husband, Anthony “Tony” French. Woods was sentenced to 100 years in prison after being convicted in 2009 of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
At the time of the sentencing, then Deputy Prosecutor Eric Hoffman said, "He killed another human being, a victim that he never met, he got paid for it, and enjoyed it. What kind of animal is capable of…executing a woman as she begged for her life, the mother of three children, whose only sin was to try to break free from her abusive and controlling husband, and try to live in peace?"
In 2017, Woods appealed his conviction, claiming there were multiple errors made during his trial. A judge denied that appeal in 2021 and Woods then appealed to the Indiana Court of Appeals.
“Jess David Woods referred to his female victim and all other women as 'scum.' However, his misogynistic, violent, and brutal actions show who the 'scum' really is," Hoffman said. "Woods is exactly where he belongs – behind bars. Society is much safer given the fact that Woods will spend the rest of his natural life in prison. It is comforting to know that the only way Jess David Woods will ever get out of prison is in a pine box.”
Anthony French is serving an 80-year prison sentence in his late wife's death.
