The Wrong Guy

In a bungled hunt for a killer, police wreck the life of an innocent

A A A Comments By Mark Donald Thursday, Mar 4 2004

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Dallas, Studio Six Motel, December 15, 2003, 8:20a.m.

On Monday, a friend grew concerned when he couldn't reach Wooley by phone. The friend called the motel directly and asked the clerk if she would check on the man in Room 108. The clerk didn't recall seeing Wooley since midafternoon on Saturday, December 13, and she went to knock on his door. When he didn't answer, she entered the room and found him lying on a bloodstained bed, dead.

Paul Wooley, from an infant to a troubled adult: Wooley had a difficult relationship with his family, which they say contributed to his emotional problems as an adult.

Mark Graham

Even after McKinney police knew they had the wrong man, claims Dallas attorney Jeff Lynch, they kept his client Paul Wooley in jail for more than three days in an "attempt to smoke out the true killer."

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An autopsy was performed, the results of which indicated the cause of his death was the "toxic effects of oxycodone," a prescription drug he took to alleviate his backache. The Medical Examiner's Office ruled the manner of his death was "undetermined."

These findings will certainly become relevant when Wooley's heirs, as planned, sue the various police agencies who they believe illegally arrested and incarcerated him. Until then, whether Paul Wooley finally made good on his threats and took his own life, or just wanted to stop his pain and took too much medication remains a mystery.