Naman Shrestha
When the news of Dennis Wood’s demise broke out in April 2004, the entire community of Moorpark, California, was left shocked to its core. Initially, the detectives struggled to find any leads, but their determined search eventually led to the perpetrator(s) about two decades later. In the episode titled ‘The Genius and the Mastermind’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Who Hired the Hitman?,’ the focus is on the gruesome murder of the 71-year-old man and the decades-long investigation that ensued, leading the authorities to a broader scheme and a financial motive.
Dennis Wood’s Remains Were Discovered in His Moorpark House During a Welfare Check
Born on August 24, 1932, in Carthage, New York, to Leroy A. and Mary G. Wood, Dennis Leroy Wood grew up alongside his three brothers, Paul, Alfred, and Melvin, and a sister named Ruth. Being a bright student academically, he graduated from Syracuse University with flying colors. Additionally, Dennis was a devout Christian and a biblical scholar. During his marriage to his first wife, he had a son named Bruce Simmons, who also gave him the pleasure of being a grandfather to Ian Simmons. Dennis married for the second time to Jeannine H. Shaw Wood, who had a daughter named Dawn Houser from a previous relationship.
His life turned upside down in the 1990s when he met with a critical car accident, resulting in some brain damage that affected his short-term memory. Due to his condition, he changed his career and began selling t-shirts, perfumes, and prepaid calling cards. More tragedy followed in December 2002, with the sudden passing of his wife. A couple of years later, Dennis was reportedly busy writing a book, hoping to get it published someday. Unfortunately, he couldn’t finish writing it as fate intervened. On April 16, 2004, his son, Bruce, contacted the authorities and requested a welfare check on Dennis, whom he hadn’t been able to get in touch with for a couple of weeks.
When the police arrived at Dennis’ residence in the 12500 block of Mountain Trail Street in Moorpark, they noticed that a significant amount of dust had settled on his car in the driveway, which also had several newspapers scattered around. As the detectives tried to enter the house, they noticed that the door was unlocked, but something was blocking it. It turned out that Dennis’ remains were against the front door. Upon inspecting the scene of the crime, they found two spent .22-caliber shell casings and another one in the bodily fluid. According to the autopsy reports, he died of multiple gunshot wounds as the 71-year-old man was shot twice in the head and once in the chest. Immediately, a homicide investigation was launched to get to the bottom of the case.
Three Individuals Were Linked to Dennis Wood’s Murder Several Years Later
Given the mysterious circumstances surrounding Dennis Wood’s passing, the authorities had a hard time connecting the dots. When several of the leads resulted in dead ends, the detectives connected the shell casings found at the crime scene to the gun owned by a man named Tylen Merriweather, described as a gang member in the documentary, about a couple of years after the incident. However, he told the police that he had bought the firearm from a girl for $125, indicating that the murder weapon had likely changed hands multiple times after the killing. A lack of evidence and the absence of new leads resulted in the case going cold.
A few years later, a potential suspect named Raul Vasquez, in an unrelated murder case in Los Angeles, told the authorities that his accomplice, Alex Bracamonte, was responsible for killing Dennis in 2004. In addition, Raul also claimed that Antoine Nehme was the mastermind behind the deadly plot. Upon digging deeper into Antoine’s background, the detectives learned that he had purchased a gas station in Ojai and renamed it Tony’s American Gas. It turned out that he had taken a loan of thousands of dollars from Dennis for an unknown business venture. Finally, in April 2023, Dennis’ murder case was officially reopened.
Initially, Raul testified that he had driven Antoine and Alex to Dennis’ house, where Alex shot the man through a box. Later, he recanted his claims of Antoine being present at the scene. On August 23, 2023, Alex also admitted to killing Dennis Wood in 2004, providing the police with all the details that only the perpetrator would know. He confirmed the story Raul initially told the detectives — Raul drove Alex to the house while Antoine had orchestrated the murder. He was already serving time for a 2006 Los Angeles murder when he was charged with Dennis’ murder, too. Finally, on May 14, 2024, Antoine Nehme was arrested and charged with murder, felony conspiracy, and solicitation of murder for planning the killing of Dennis, whom he owed thousands of dollars.
Alex and Antoine Are Serving Their Sentence at Separate California Prison Facilities
On May 8, 2024, Alex Bracamonte pleaded guilty to second-degree murder of Dennis Wood and agreed to testify against Antoine Nehme at his trial. Less than a year later, Antoine stood trial in March 2025. During the trial, the prosecution brought Alex as one of their key witnesses to the stand. As per his plea agreement, he testified against the orchestrator of the murder plot. His testimony and a series of incriminating evidence the prosecution presented in court allowed the jury to reach a guilty verdict and convict him of murder, conspiracy to commit a crime, and solicitation of murder on March 17.
On May 7, Alex was sentenced to 15 years to life for his involvement in the killing of Dennis. In the same month, Antoine was also sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. As of today, 67-year-old Alex Bracamonte is serving his sentence at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in San Quentin, California, with his parole eligibility date scheduled for June 2028. Meanwhile, Antoine Nehme is incarcerated at the California State Prison, Corcoran, in Corcoran, California.
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