MANSFIELD — An arrest warrant affidavit gives a chilling and gruesome play-by-play of how investigators recently cracked the mystery behind a little boy's disappearance in 1981.
Terry Woodson, 64, was arrested earlier this month for the alleged murder of his 5-year-old nephew, Anthony, 37 years ago.
An affidavit filed in Tarrant County District Court revealed how Woodson and his wife told investigators in August of 1981 that the boy disappeared while Woodson was inside a 7-11 convenience store.
Although Woodson showed "multiple signs of deception" on a polygraph test at the time, according to the affidavit, he was never arrested by authorities.
There was a significant search effort for Anthony, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children advocated his case for years. His nickname was "Burt."
Mansfield police detectives reopened the investigation last year after Det. Tom Hewitt reviewed the original case file.
Over a course of five interviews with Woodson, the affidavit states that Woodson finally admitted to beating the boy with an "extension cord." He suggested that his wife at the time, Della, "started it and I finished it."
Woodson told investigators he dumped the boy's body in an area near the 6000 block of Lakeview Road, although thorough searches of that area and a nearby creek have yet to turn up any remains.
The affidavit states that investigators consulted with a team from the highly-regarded University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, and the doctors conveyed it was unlikely any remains would be found after so long.
Investigators also talked to neighbors of the Woodson's at the time, and they confirmed hearing "...yelling and screaming" from the Woodson household around the time of Anthony's disappearance.
Woodson's sister and defense attorney say he's sick, and question the allegations and circumstances surrounding his arrest, according to WFAA media partner the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Della, his wife, has since died, according to public records.
Perhaps most tragic of all, the warrant says Terry Woodson believes his nephew "would have lived if he had provided emergency care for him" after the beatings.
Woodson admitted he did not.