The group was loaded into the two vans and driven around for 11 hours, during which time the hungry, petrified children soiled themselves and clung onto each other in fear. They had been in the hole for nearly 16 hours, completely terrified. And he found this man's body. July 15-17, 1976: The school bus hijacking. Most of her short marriage with Mr. Woods was not happy, Mrs. Padgett said. Woods had also inherited a trust fund reportedly worth $100 million, as he came from two very wealthy families, and he bought a mansion a short distance away from the prison. Through his relationship with the family, Mr. Woods stood to inherit, according to one source, one thirtysixth of the fortune. For the victims of the 1976 kidnapping, the possibility of Woods being released from prison is complicated. Six days later, his older brother, James, and the third kidnapper, Frederick Newhall Woods, both 24, were captured -- Woods in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Schoenfeld in Menlo Park. He told me once he was ashamed of her, she said. Park remembered Marshalls determination at that moment. The three masked men had hijacked the school bus, transferred the captives into prison vans, and buried them alive in a cargo truck at a quarry 100 miles away. The men planned to. Hyde, during Friday's hearing, said Woods has yet to fully make amends for his crime and 'is still a millionaire. On July 29, fourteen days after the mass abduction, Frederick and James were both arrested when they were recognized by several civilians. The panel's proposed parole decision will become final within 120 days. He is the heir to a sizable family fortune and his lawyer, Gary Dubcoff, has repeatedly argued that apart from the commitment offense, [Woods] has no history of violence, whether before prison or in it. They focused their investigation into the Chowchilla kidnapping on Frederick Newhall Woods IV the quarry owners son. His son, Gavin, is the current governor of California and will ultimately get to decide Woods fate when or if he is granted parole by the parole board. Ed Ray and the children escaped from the buried moving truck after 16 hours. Frederick Newhall Woods was found suitable for parole at a hearing Friday,California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesperson Joe Orlando confirmed to CNN on Tuesday. Now Woods, who was 24 when he committed the kidnapping, has moved one step closer to leaving prison. About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. The company reported gross sales of $1.5 million last year, and the young Mr. Woods is reported to hold stock in the company. Frederick Newhall Woods III, a member of one of California's wealthiest and most prominent families, rented the San Jose warehouse where the two vans were found. A panel of two commissioners with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on Friday recommended parole for Frederick Newhall Woods, one of three men who hijacked a school. ', 'I've had a character change since then,' he said at his hearing. CBS reported that in previous parole hearings he was evasive, unable or unwilling to follow prison rules and fail[ed] to acknowledge the severity of his crime. While James and Richard Schoenfeld had success with the parole board last decade, Woods despite his many attempts had not had success until this year. The portrait that emerges from interviews with Mrs. Padgett and others who knew 24yearold Fred Woods, most of them casually because he had very few friends, is one of a longersome say a loserwho got along poorly with people, and who perhaps as a result, cloaked himself in his possessions, carrying with him as a high school student not pictures of girls but pictures of his automobiles. Six months after the mass abduction, Bay Area psychiatrist Lenore Terr had gone to Chowchilla to help with a noted rise in nightmares and phobias that were being experienced by the children; Terr conducted interviews with all but one of the children, also performing follow-up interviews three to four years afterward. After the children managed to free themselves, the kidnappers fled. So, where are they now? Victim Jennifer Brown Hyde, who was nine at the time, said she 'felt like an animal going to the slaughterhouse.' Madera County prosecutors said Woods' disciplinary infractions in prison showed he had not yet learned to follow the rules. He kept the newspaper clips, because his name was in the papers for finding the body.. While executing a search warrant at the Woods estate, investigators found a gun used in the abduction, a draft of a ransom note, and even a document titled plan. But Woods and his two suspected accomplices, brothers James and Richard Schoenfeld, were nowhere to be found. Multiple survivors support Woods parole, while others oppose it. At the time of the abduction, Frank "Ed" Ray - the bus driver - was bringing students from Dairyland Elementary School home from a summer trip to the local fairgrounds. At some point in their early lives, Richard and James became acquainted with Frederick, working on cars and talking about movies with another friend. The authorities here confirmed that a search of the Woods estate had turned up a draft of a $5million ransom note that authorities said may have been written by young Woods. On Friday, March 25, 2022, Woods read aloud an apology at his parole hearing. The SF Gate reported in 2001 that the brothers had been in contact with some of the kidnapping victims over the years, repeatedly apologizing for what they had done. Anyone can read what you share. Under immediate suspicion was Frederick Newhall Woods IV, the 24-year-old son of the quarry's millionaire owner. Now I fully understand the terror and trauma I caused. The third followed in the truck. If the decision from the hearing panel stands, it will become finalized 120 days after the hearing. He and two others hijack a school bus with 26 children and a driver in 1976 in Chauchilla. He was bitter about it, about the way his marriage had broken up, said a 20yearold woman who was Fred Woods's girlfriend until about 10 months ago, when she broke off her relationship with him. Frederick Woods was among three men convicted of hijacking a school bus full of California children for an attempted $5 million ransom in 1976. . And now he rescues me every day, said Marshall. Woods's parole has also previously been backed by some prominent supporters, including Democratic U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo of Palo Alto in 2015. Inside The 1976 Chowchilla Kidnapping That Left 26 Schoolchildren Buried Alive. CBS 'I believe you have served enough time for the crime you committed,' Park said Friday, before adding: 'I'm concerned about the addiction you may have about money.'. 'I'm overwhelmed to the point that I had to leave work,' she said. The 78acre Woods estate, called Hawthorne, where the young man lived in a converted outbuilding adjacent to the home of his grandmother and across a hill from his parents' home, is strewn with a hundred or more old vehicles, aging vans, a classic Pierce Arrow resting near decaying and nondescript family sedans, a hearse, buses, fire engines, some in garages, others rusting in the rain on hills gilded by summer stands of golden rye grass, fodder for a score or more of retired police horses bought and put to pasture by young Woods's grandmother, now an invalid and in the care of a nurse. The young man constantly sought to please his father, she said, but always felt inadequate. An appeals court, however, overturned the decision and the kidnappers were allowed the possibility of parole. Browse 1 frederick newhall woods stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. We've received your submission. And they dont fight back. SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 4 When 24yearold Fred Woods, the last to be arrested of the three young men charged with the kidnapping and entombment of 26 schoolchildren, was taken into custody in Canada a week ago, he was dressed, as a Canadian official put it, like an amateur cowboyhighheeled boots, faded brown denim suit and a rancher's hat saucily curled over long brown sideburns. Governor Jerry Brown, who was in his first year during the kidnappings, had 120 days to decide whether he wanted to send the case back to the parole board, but once the time elapsed, James release became imminent. As a teenager and a young married, he enjoyed a liberal stipend from his wealthy parents, but was penurious about purchasing such things as household goods. Officials said they . According to his attorney, however, he has not faced any disciplinary action since his last parole hearing in 2019. Jennifer Brown Hyde, another victim of the Chowchilla kidnapping, vividly remembered being ushered into the deep, dark hole at gunpoint: I felt like I was an animal going to the slaughterhouse.. While the frightened children and the bus driver were entombed for hours, the roof began to collapse from the weight of the dirt, according to court records. Authorities issued an all-points bulletin for young Woods and his two friends, James Schoenfeld, 24 and his brother, Richard Schoenfeld, 22, sons of a wealthy podiatrist. By Wayne King Special to The New York Times. You can check out his prison record here. His parents often . Scrawled above it are the words, Our first baby. They ordered Ray and the children into the back of the two vans, which had been converted from prison transport vehicles. And he's just letting those trucks, beautiful fire engines, turn into junkers. Frederick Newhall Woods IV and Richard and James Schoenfeld were soon . At this point, Frederick and James, having passed through the Bay Area, decided to split up and head into Canada separately. Mass Abductors One evening coming home from work [from his father's rock quarry], he went by the field to count the horses, because one was stolen the week before. The authorities only discovered the businesses when a workers compensation lawsuit was filed against him. But he was lonely, and it was lonely living with him.. One of the three drove the bus, another watched Ray and the children, and the third followed behind in their van. Home. Lynda Carrejo Labendeira, who was 10 years old at the time, told the Associated Press in 2015 that the battery-operated blowers that circulated the air in the bunker began to fail. However, 36 years later, in 2012, Richard was the first of the trio to be granted parole. The three eventually formulated a scheme to hijack a school bus, hide all of the passengers somewhere safe, demand a $5 million ransom from the state of California, retrieve the money, and then release the hostages unharmed, all within twenty-four hours. Anyone can read what you share. At the time, they were given 27 life sentences without the possibility of parole. He cannot unilaterally reverse the parole decision, because Woods was not convicted of murder. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. A copper penny is taped to a page, date 1971, and the inscription reads our lucky penny., On a final page is a snapshot of a puppy. Where is Frederick Newhall Woods Now? Woods - with pantyhose pulled over his head and a gun drawn - was first to board the bus, ordering Ray to 'Shut up and get to the back', as victim Larry Park recalled for CBS. my friends, by the house, and if we had anyone that he invited it was always his family or relative, no one else.. Chowchilla bus kidnapper Fred Woods, 70, has been approved for parole - CNN. A third man followed the bus in the van that had barricaded the road. And just scared out of their you know, we were all just scared out of our wits, Marshall told CBS News, adding, It would be silent and then somebody would bust out crying and the hole would just erupt. There was no quit in him, said Park of Marshall, adding that eventually Marshall broke the surface and brave person that he is, crawled out of the hole first.. Frederick Newhall Woods was born 24 years ago, the son of Harriet Wright and Frederick Nickerson Woods 3d. He just seemed the normal kind of guy, the former classmate said. Fred Woods and James and Richard Schoenfeld, the men who kidnapped 26 children in 1976. I fully take responsibility for this heinous act.. Richard Schoenfeld turned himself in to authorities eight days after the kidnapping; his brother was captured in Menlo Park, California, not far from the quarry; and Frederick Newhall Woods was arrested in Vancouver, Canada, after fleeing the country. However, according to CBS News, their families appealed the conviction and in 1980, a panel of judges ruled that the kidnappers would eventually be eligible for parole instead of spending life in prison without said eligibility. I knew it.'. On October 30, 2008, after being denied parole twenty times, Richard was deemed suitable for parole by the California Board on Parole Hearings and was released on June 20, 2012, presently living with his mother in a condominium in Mountain View, California. Yet here I am, a mess.". He just said he preferred not to be around children, she said. On August 7, 2015, James was paroled. Like many people with a IV at the end of. To his young bride, Mr. Woods seemed inordinantly possessive, a collector, he hoarded things. Scattered across the aging estate were scores of automobiles, fire engines, buses, vans, a hundred or more. He'd mention the trips they'd taken to Baja, California. At a parole hearing held online last week due to Covid-19 safety precautions that featured testimony from multiple survivors, Woods said that he is a changed man. He had been denied release 17 other times. Of course, we all sympathize with the victims who suffered. I asked him if he felt funny, finding a dead man. A Puzzling Portrait of Key Coast Kidnapping Suspect, https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/05/archives/a-puzzling-portrait-of-key-coast-kidnapping-suspect.html. Subscribe to the 48 Hours" Channel HERE: bit.ly/1DvRWbT Watch Full Episodes Of "48 Hours" HERE: bit.ly/1fop6N1 Investigate with "48, Video related to two kidnappers of 26 children paroled; one remains in prison, kidnapped a school bus driver and 26 children, Why A Georgia Beauty Queens Alleged Murderer Still Hasnt Been Tried in Her Death. The possibility of parole for Frederick, Richard, and James stirred controversy, with Ray and some of the hostages stating that they should be kept in prison, while other hostages, sheriff's officers, and the judge that presided over the case and passed down the sentence stated that they should be released from jail. READ NEXT: Why A Georgia Beauty Queens Alleged Murderer Still Hasnt Been Tried in Her Death, Two Kidnappers of 26 Children Paroled; One Remains in Prison, Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Gavin Newsom has 30 days to review the decision and wither allow it to stand or refer it to the full Board of Parole Hearings for a review. Frederick Newhall Woods, now a bit frail, had been incarcerated 43 years for helping commit one of California's most shocking crimes. 'Even the settlement paid to some of us survivors was not sufficient. Public DomainFrederick Newhall Woods IV, James Schoenfeld, and Richard Schoenfeld planned the Chowchilla kidnapping for over a year. Pathology Hes incarcerated at the California Mens Colony in San Luis Obispo. Fred Woods's favorite was a 1952 Chevrolet, restored to perfection, but any car was likely to strike his fancy. ', She added:'He's not someone who should be released. "48 Hours: Live to Tell": Twenty-six school children abducted and buried alive in a truck trailer by three young men. An appeals court ordered Richard Schoenfeld released in 2012, and former Gov. For a grueling 16 hours, the bus driver and one of the oldest students worked tirelessly to free themselves and the other children from the makeshift prison before they ran out of air or the roof of the truck collapsed in on them from the weight of the dirt above. Meet Rafael Prez, The Crooked LAPD Officer Who Stole Pounds Of Cocaine And Inspired 'Training Day', 7 Creepy Cold Cases Where The Killer And Victim Still Remain Unknown, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch, Bill Young/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images. pauline hanson dancing with the stars; just jerk dance members; what happens if a teacher gets a dui By Wayne King Special to The New York Times. Natasha Anderson For Dailymail.Com But eight days later, Richard Schoenfeld turned himself in to the authorities, according to the San Francisco Gate. she said, I would have friends. Upon discovering that he and James were missing, police launched a manhunt for them and also placed a tight watch on Richard, whom they also suspected. Thankfully, all the children and their bus driver returned home 36 hours after they were abducted, safe but traumatized. We needed multiple victims to get multiple millions, and we picked children because children are precious, Schoenfeld said. Born sometime in the 1952 and 1954, respectively, Frederick, James, and Richard all came from privileged backgrounds, having lived in wealthy neighborhoods in the San Francisco area. Woods said during an earlier parole hearing that he just 'got greedy.'. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Another survivor, Darla Neal, told CNN in 2015 that she deals with crippling anxiety to the point that she had to leave work. she said. Furthermore, the brothers had run into severe debt and thus came on board for the kidnapping, as they needed the ransom money. Ive had empathy for the victims, which I didnt have then. Woods said. 'I was 24 years old. James was the second one to get paroled in 2015. Originally the three were charged with joy riding, a fel. The state prison spokesman, Luis Patino, said, As such, CDCR does not have any legal option other than to release inmate Schoenfeld and will do so. Richard, like his fellow kidnappers, was also incarcerated at San Luis Obispo. But I never saw any of that shotgun thing, pointing them at people and shooting at them, the youth said. I think I only saw a few pictures of him and his parents together in the family pictures. Victims of the kidnapping, now adults, spoke to CNN in 2015 about their remaining fears relating to the tragic event. Less than a week later, Frederick Woods was captured in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and James Schoenfeld was captured in Menlo Park, California. Frederick Newhall Woods IVRichard SchoenfeldJames Schoenfeld On July 15, 1976, Frederick, Richard, and James put their scheme into motion. And possess., See the article in its original context from. Email us atexclusive@the-sun.comor call212 416 4552. The ones he sold he made a lot ontwo or three hundred dollars for a junker, up into the thousands.. Frederick Newhall Woods was 24 years old at the time of the 1976 Chowchilla school bus kidnapping. A draft ransom note was found at the scene, with some of its phrasing seeming to make reference to Hugh Pentecost's story, 'The Day the Children Vanished', which had been published in Alfred Hitchcock's Daring Detectives and was displayed in the Chowchilla public library. 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