Woody testifies he lied to investigators in Korey Kauffman case

The defense on Wednesday continued its cross-examination of prosecution witness Robert Lee Woody with a line of questioning challenging his credibility on what he told authorities about the death of Korey Kauffman.

Woody said he has lied to his ex-girlfriend, both of his attorneys and several members of the task force investigating Kauffman’s death. He said that he told some of these lies even before he was arrested and charged with murder in Kauffman’s death.

The witness has agreed to testify in exchange for leniency from the prosecution. If he testifies truthfully, he will be sentenced to seven years and four months in prison instead of facing a maximum sentence of life behind bars.

The defense says Woody has given conflicting stories, including one account in which he claims sole responsibility for Kauffman’s death.

Woody continued his testimony Wednesday in a preliminary hearing for Modesto attorney Frank Carson and five others accused in Kauffman’s slaying. The hearing to determine whether the defendants will stand trial has been going on for nearly a year; about seven months shorter than the longest preliminary hearing in state history.

Woody has testified that he saw Kauffman shot to death on Carson’s Turlock property in late March 2012 and helped others hide the 26-year-old man’s body before dumping Kauffman’s remains in a remote area of Mariposa County.

On Wednesday, Woody said he denied any involvement in Kauffman’s disappearance numerous times to investigators. “I denied it to everyone,” he testified.

In August 2015, Woody changed his mind and decided to cooperate with authorities, implicating his co-defendants in Kauffman’s death. On July 22, nearly a year later, Woody chose to expand his account of Kauffman’s death, he said on the witness stand Wednesday.

Woody said Carson and former California Highway Patrol officer Walter Wells were on Carson’s property when Kauffman was killed. Woody said that was a lie. He testified that he told the same lie to his attorney Martin Baker three days later but revealed his latest account was false at the end of the July 25 conversation.

In the July 22 interview with the prosecution, Woody was shown aerial photos of Carson’s property. Woody marked on one of the photos where Wells’ vehicle was parked on the night of Kauffman’s death, but that also was a lie. He told investigators what vehicle Wells was driving that night, but that was a lie, as well.

Woody testified that he wanted to provide investigators more details, so they would believe the lie he had just told them. He said he told these lies because his mother had showed him a note indicating Wells’ alleged involvement.

In a February 2014 conversation with Miranda Dykes, during which his then-girlfriend secretly recorded him, Woody claimed he pulled out all of Kauffman’s teeth, chopped up his body, smashed his skull and fed his remains to pigs. Woody lied to Dykes, he testified Wednesday, saying he provided those gruesome details because he wanted her to believe his story.

This story was originally published October 5, 2016 at 3:38 PM with the headline "Woody testifies he lied to investigators in Korey Kauffman case."