Guilty Verdict in Woodley Murder Trial

FRESNO, Calif.

Justice was served Friday, almost five years after the murders were committed.

The Woodleys were stabbed to death in their Tarpey Village home in July 2005.

It's been a long wait for justice for the family and the murder case was complicated, but after a four-week trial, it only took the jury a few hours to reach their verdict.

Tears echoed through the courtroom as guilty verdicts were read for Phillip Woodley in the murders of his father and stepmother.

But before the court clerk said "guilty" for the last time, Phillip's stepdaughter stormed out of the courtroom, calling the verdict "stupid" and throwing a tissue into the secured area where Phillip Woodley sat stoically.

In the hallways, Roy and Angie Woodley's family shared bittersweet hugs.

They've waited for this since 2005 and the verdicts are a weight off their shoulders.

"Five years and this is the best feeling my family has had in a long time," said the victims' grandson Chris Gonzales. "It feels so good. Closure, and I know my Nana and Papa are resting in peace now."

The jury reached their decision within a few hours and both attorneys agreed one key piece of evidence made it easy: Angie Woodley's purse, which was dumped out at the crime scene.

Phillip Woodley had told family members he visited Roy and Angie the day before the murders and helped his stepmother find a receipt in the purse.

"That was one of the stupidest things he could've done," said prosecutor Burton Francis. "Because everybody knows Angie Woodley isn't going to leave her purse dumped out like that for a whole day. He was there and he was there at the time of the crime."

Sentencing is set for May 10, and the only possible sentence is life in prison without parole.

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