New Court Date Scheduled for Man Accused of Woods Murder

Tyrone Benedict, accused of murdering Mehlville resident Mark J. Woods, is set to have a pretrial conference on Oct. 14. Benedict was scheduled to have the conference Aug. 5, but according to CaseNet, the hearing was continued.

Benedict, of Maryland Heights, was and first-degree arson in March. 

Mehlville firefighters found 40-year-old Woods, a quadriplegic, dead in his home at 140 Kinswood Lane after being called to the scene about a fire. Police and fire officials said Woods appeared to be deceased for some time before the fire.

According to a probable cause statement released by the St. Louis County Prosecutor’s Office, Woods had been stabbed, but the cause of death was smoke inhalation.

In the statement, John Bradley, a detective with the St. Louis County Police Department, said that Benedict at first had lied to police about his whereabouts Wednesday. Bradley said Benedict eventually told police that the fire was in progress when he had arrived at Wood’s home.

Benedict, who had burns on his back, buttocks and hands, told detectives he had tried to save Woods, but failed. He also told police that Woods, who was bedridden, was trying to sexually abuse him.