Judge’s decision on new trial for McCandless expected in November
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by LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — Following a six-hour hearing, a Dunn County judge is expected to make an oral ruling on November 10 whether to grant a new trial for convicted murderer Ezra J. McCandless.
McCandless, age 26, appeared in Dunn County Circuit Court July 3 with attorneys Kelsey Loshaw and Colleen Marie Marion on a petition for a new trial before Judge James Peterson.
Judge Peterson sentenced McCandless in February of 2020 to life in prison, with eligibility to petition for extended supervision after serving 50 years, for the murder of Alexander Woodworth.
A jury found McCandless guilty of first degree intentional homicide in November of 2019.
McCandless, who was 20 years old at the time, stabbed the 24-year-old Woodworth 16 times.
Woodworth’s body was discovered in McCandless’s car in the Town of Spring Brook, south of Elk Mound, on Friday, March 23, 2018.
During the three-week trial in the fall of 2019, McCandless’s attorneys argued that McCandless had stabbed Woodworth in self defense.
McCandless and Woodworth had dated, although McCandless had broken off the relationship approximately one month before his death and had told Woodworth she never wanted to see him again. There was no indication Woodworth had attempted to contact McCandless after that, but on March 22, 2018, McCandless went to Woodworth’s apartment in Eau Claire to return several items and to talk about their relationship.
She had been living with her step-father in Stanley.
During the July 3 hearing, McCandless’s attorneys argued that redacted journal entries written by Woodworth had indicated that Woodworth had made unwanted sexual contact with McCandless, and McCandless believed he wanted to harm her, according to news reports.
Judge Peterson found there was an adequate record on the journal entries, according to online court records.
McCandless’s attorneys also said McCandless had suffered from a history of sexual abuse, and that the evidence had been kept from the jury, according to news reports.
McCandless’s attorneys have asked for a court transcript and to submit a written argument to the court.
Judge Peterson set a deadline of August 25 for McCandless’s attorneys to file a written argument, and the prosecution has a deadline of September 25.
An oral ruling from Judge Peterson is scheduled on November 10 at 10 a.m.
The 80-page motion for a new trial states that McCandless received ineffective counsel, that the jury was allowed to consider inflammatory and inadmissible character evidence, that the jury received incorrect and incomplete instructions on how to consider psychological evidence, and that the state made improper closing arguments, according to news reports from when the petition for a new trial was submitted in December of 2022.
Woodworth was a philosophy student at UW-Eau Claire and had been planning to apply for graduate school.
