In early April 2003, a man was shot and killed in his car in front of his girlfriend while they were picking up food from a Chinese restaurant in Fort Pierce, Florida.
Law enforcement developed a theory that the murder was retaliation because the victim had declined to testify on behalf of another individual in that person’s murder trial. After that individual was convicted, the State theorized that his mother, Diane Fennell, his aunt Willie Mae Hampton, Hampton’s lover Patrick Williams, and even the victim’s girlfriend participated in a plan to kill the victim.
Kelvin Williams, who was himself suspected of being the shooter, told police that David Woodard had been hired to carry out the murder.
David’s case did not center on a traditional eyewitness identification procedure. Instead, he was implicated through statements and testimony from several individuals who claimed that he participated in the planning or execution of the murder.
One witness claimed she saw David at a bar participating in the planning of the crime and later saw him shoot the victim. Another witness testified that she saw one of the alleged conspirators give a bag of money to an unidentified person in a vehicle before the murder.
Kelvin Williams’ brother, Lenard Williams, also implicated David, claiming that he gave David a gun to use in the murder and later happened to see David pointing a gun into the victim’s vehicle. Kelvin Williams, meanwhile, testified to his own alibi.
Years later, critical witnesses would recant or contradict the testimony used to implicate David, while additional evidence pointed to Kelvin Williams as the actual shooter.
At David’s June 2006 trial, the State relied on four key witnesses to establish its case against him. Among them was a witness with a history of lying who was incentivized to testify and who claimed to have witnessed both the planning of the crime and David committing the shooting.
Lenard Williams testified that he supplied David with the gun used in the murder and witnessed him pointing a gun into the victim’s car. Kelvin Williams testified regarding his own alibi, distancing himself from the shooting.
David was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy. After the jury declined to recommend a death sentence, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The Innocence Project of Florida became involved in David’s case in 2021, after receiving letters that co-defendant Patrick Williams had sent to authorities. Patrick stated that he had hired his brother, Kelvin Williams, to shoot the victim and unequivocally maintained that David had not participated in either the planning or execution of the murder. He also stated that trial witnesses’ claims implicating David were fabrications. Patrick subsequently executed a sworn affidavit, which became the basis of IPF’s 2021 motion for postconviction relief.
IPF then conducted a multi-year field investigation that uncovered substantial evidence corroborating David’s innocence. Kelvin Williams’ stepsister stated in a sworn deposition that Kelvin had confessed to her and her mother that he was the shooter and David was innocent. Kelvin’s stepbrother similarly reported that Kelvin confessed to being the shooter and acknowledged that the wrong person was imprisoned for the crime.
Significantly, Lenard Williams, the State witness who testified that he gave David the murder weapon and saw him at the crime scene, provided a sworn statement acknowledging that his trial testimony against David was untrue and that Kelvin actually committed the murder. IPF also discovered testimony from co-defendant Diane Fennell identifying Kelvin as the shooter.
In November 2024, the State provided IPF with previously undisclosed depositions that further strengthened David’s claims. Taken only four months after David’s conviction, the depositions contained sworn testimony from Kelvin’s stepbrother and stepmother concerning Kelvin’s separate confessions. Another previously undisclosed deposition significantly impeached another trial witness against David. This evidence had been contained in a co-defendant’s file but had not been disclosed to David.
Despite the evidence supporting his innocence, David still faced the possibility that he could lose his postconviction proceedings and spend the remainder of his life in prison. Shortly before an evidentiary hearing where IPF was prepared to present its evidence, David reached an agreement with the State. His convictions were vacated, and he entered an Alford plea to a lesser charge, allowing him to maintain his innocence on the record while immediately ending his sentence.
On November 25, 2025, at 8:47 p.m., David walked out of the St. Lucie County Jail after 21.5 years of wrongful incarceration. He became the 38th person released with the help of the Innocence Project of Florida. IPF Executive Director Seth Miller and Legal Director Brandon Scheck represented David in his postconviction proceedings, with Senior Staff Investigator Amy Carr conducting the bulk of the field investigation that developed the evidence supporting his innocence.
Although we are the premier resource in Florida for those who have been wrongfully convicted and imprisoned, we receive no funding from the State of Florida. Our continued operation depends on the generosity of friends like you.