Michigan nursing home serial killer released. Now she will live in York County
A woman who helped kill five people at a nursing home in Michigan more than three decades ago has been released from prison and is expected to live in York County while on parole, officials said.
Catherine Wood, 57, was released Thursday from prison after serving almost 30 years, according to the federal Bureau Of Prisons.
Wood pleaded guilty for her role in the murders of five elderly patients at the Alpine Manor facility in Michigan, officials said.
Wood will be living in York County with a relative near Fort Mill, said Pete O’Boyle, spokesman for S.C. Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services. The area where Wood will live is south of Charlotte and the North Carolina state line.
Parole officials in York County are aware Wood has multiple murder convictions, O’Boyle said. She will have to report to an assigned York County parole agent at least twice a month.
“Our agency will supervise her while she is on parole in South Carolina,” O’Boyle said.
York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson said Wood will be supervised by state parole officers, not sheriff’s deputies.
“We are at the ready to assist in any way should that agency request it,” Tolson said.
The parole will last at least until June 2021, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Wood is banned from working with the elderly, disabled or children, O’Boyle said.
Relatives of the people killed fought against Wood’s parole, according to reports from WSOC-TV and other news outlets.
John Engman, whose mother-in-law was one of Wood’s victims, told news outlets about concerns.
“If I was a neighbor, I would want to definitely know that we have a serial killer living next door,” Engman told WOOD-TV in Michigan.
A second woman who was convicted remains in prison. The killings received national attention in 1987.
This story was originally published January 17, 2020 at 12:54 PM.
