Jacob Lyle Woods
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Jacob Lyle Woods
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This information is from Jacob’s mother, Kathy Johnson, and has been edited:
“On Saturday, March 3, 2007, in the late afternoon, Jacob, [and others] drove to East Lansing to purchase drugs. They purchased what they believed to be ecstasy and acid. They took their drugs and drove back to Grand Rapids stopping at a few stores on the way home,” she wrote. Â
Jacob was dropped off at apartment complex, Globe apartments (Globe Apartments, 315 Commerce St. SW, Grand Rapids, MI). Jacob’s roommate and partner for the last 4 ½ years, Stuart Duga [who has since died],
was home. According to another visitor Stuart was very upset with Jacob that evening for doing drugs and was “moody†with both of them. Shortly after 4:30 a.m. Stuart later told Mrs. Johnson that Jacob was lying on the couch covered up with a blanket and Stuart went to bed.
Mrs. Johnson continues: “At approximately 5:27 a.m. the apartment complex video surveillance shows Jacob walking out of his apartment wearing his lounge pants and a T-shirt. The apartment door is closed but not latched. His apartment number was #210 and was on the 2nd floor. At approximately 6 a.m. Jacob’s body was found by a neighbor coming home from work, Jacob was lying on the floor of the atrium on the main floor. Jacob was then only in a T-shirt and underwear; his pants were found later in the lower level parking garage. The neighbor called 911. Stuart stated that he woke up approximately an hour after going to bed and falling asleep, alarmed because Jacob was not in bed. He went out into the apartment and realized that Jacob was not there so he sat down at the computer to see if he could tell where Jacob may have gone. Stuart heard commotion in the hallway, went out to see what was going on and ended up seeing Jacob’s body. Stuart tried CPR with the assistance of the 911 operator.”
Police say their conclusion was that Jacob fell to his death.  “It’s unclear just how far he fell,” said Sgt. Chris Postma.  Sgt. Postma was one of the responding officers who investigated the case.  “His fall could have been from the second or third or even fourth floor railing,” he said.  “He was badly injured.  There was no evidence to suggest to us that his death that it was anything other than an accident.”
Sgt. Postma said that the video does not show the door of Jacob’s apartment but does show part of the hallway and Jacob was seen walking away from the door and was dressed in his pajama bottoms. Â He confirms that those pants were later found on the parking level.
The cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries with a contributing factor of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (Ecstasy) toxicity. Â The manner of death is listed by forensic pathologist Dr. David Start as accidental.
Jacob’s mother says she believes that something else happened…that he was murdered.
Jacob’s death attracted no media attention. Â There was no report in The Grand Rapids Press of the incident. Â That’s unusual because there were stories of other accidental deaths in the area during the several days following Jacob’s death. Â What we do have is the obituary.
Jacob Woods Obituary, March 7, 2007