NILES TOWNSHIP, Mich. – An Indiana man has been sentenced to decades in prison in connection with a 1987 murder in Southwestern Michigan, effectively closing what was once a cold case.
Patrick Gilham, 67, has been sentenced to at least 23 years in prison in connection with the slaying of Roxanne Leigh Wood, 30, who was found dead by her husband in their Niles Township home. The husband, Terry Wood, found the woman with her throat cut after the couple had driven separately to go bowling, and Roxanne Wood returned home first.
Investigators ruled Roxanne Wood’s death a homicide, but did not make any arrests until nearly 35 years later on Feb. 20, 2022, when Gilham was arrested. Michigan State Police had previously reopened the case in 2001, and then again in 2020.
Gilham pleaded no contest to the murder.
It is currently unclear what, if any, connection exists between Gilham and Roxanne Wood. The 67-year-old man, from South Bend, Indiana, was charged last month with open murder and breaking and entering of an occupied dwelling. He was extradited to and arraigned in Berrien County.
Investigators did not divulge many details following the arrest of Gilham in February. Police said then that new technology helped link Gilham to the crime.
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