Murder Suspect Will Not Face Death Penalty

The state will not seek the death penalty in a Catawba County murder case. Prosecutors announced Monday they will not ask for the death penalty against 60 year old Jerry Lewis Woods of Hickory.

Woods is charged with murder in the stabbing death of 33-year-old Octavia Deanna Beaty in the early morning of Christmas Eve 2018. Officers from the Hickory Police Department were called to a residence on 3rd Avenue SE in reference to a person being stabbed. Beaty was taken to a hospital but died as the result of her injuries.

Woods has a prior murder conviction dating back to 1982. He served a sentence of more than 30 years in prison as the result of that conviction. He remains in the Catawba County Detention Center being held without bond awaiting trial. .