Shivangi Sinha
When Bonnie Woodward vanished in June 2010, one detail immediately caught the attention of investigators. At the time, she was living in Alton, Illinois, with her partner and stepdaughter, Heather Woodward. Just weeks earlier, the latter had run away from home, and it raised red flags for the authorities. While the case initially went cold, it wasn’t until 2018 that new revelations emerged, identifying Roger Carroll, who had been sheltering Heather at the time, as the person responsible for Bonnie’s death. ABC’s ’20/20′ episode titled ‘I Have Killed For You’ delves deeper into the case and comprehensively examines what happened.
Heather Woodward Was Staying With Roger Carroll’s Family When Her Stepmother Was Killed
In 2010, Heather Woodward was living with her stepmother, Bonnie Woodward, and Bonnie’s boyfriend in Alton, Illinois. Her father, John Douglas Woodward, had passed away in 2000. At the time, she was a typical teenager, but later revealed she was unhappy with her home environment. In early June of that year, Heather ran away and briefly stayed with a teacher while avoiding contact with Bonnie. However, when the latter eventually showed up at the teacher’s residence searching for her, Heather reached out to Roger Carroll, a man she had met through her church group. At just 17 years old, Heather felt safe turning to Roger, his wife Monica Carroll, and their son Nathan Carroll, and she decided to stay with them.
A few days before June 25, 2010, Heather accompanied the Carroll family to Goreville, where Monica’s parents resided. According to court documents, during the trip, she and Roger Carroll went on a walk, though she later stated that she couldn’t recall the details of their conversation. Heather eventually alleged that while staying with Roger, he exhibited controlling behavior, limiting her access to her phone and computer. She also noted that he questioned her extensively about her stepmother Bonnie’s work schedule. Heather confirmed that Roger and his son Nathan had left the trip one day earlier than planned. When she and Monica returned home on June 26, Heather recalled noticing a large burn pile in the backyard.
Heather Woodward Testified Against Roger Carroll in 2020
It wasn’t until 2018, when Nathan Carroll was indicted by a grand jury that he revealed critical details about how his father, Roger Carroll, had murdered Bonnie Woodward and disposed of her remains by burning them. In 2020, Heather Woodward also took the stand and testified against Roger, recounting the events leading up to and following the killing. She stated that she later discovered she had allegedly been used as “bait” to draw Bonnie into the backyard, where Roger shot her. Since the trial, she has maintained her privacy and stayed out of the public eye. At the time of the incident, she was just 17 years old, so she would be around 32 now. She is hopefully rebuilding her life and continuing to heal from the trauma of those events.
Read More: Where is Roger Carroll Now? Update on Bonnie Woodward’s Killer
