Bio

Frederick G. Wood was born in 1912. Not much is widely known about his early life or childhood. He grew up in New York. As a young man, he faced various challenges, which may have influenced the path he took later in life.

Wood became known for his confrontational behavior. People who crossed his path often found themselves in arguments or fights. These personal conflicts would later define his life as he became involved in serious crimes.

In 1942, he committed his first murder. This act changed his life forever. He was convicted and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. Frederick served time in Elmira, New York.

After spending 17 years in prison, he was paroled in June 1960. This release would be short-lived. Just a month later, he was arrested again for violating his parole. His time on the outside was marked by conflict, leading to more serious actions that would grab attention from the authorities.

Frederick Wood's life was defined by his confrontations and the choices he made in response to them.

Murder Story

Frederick G. Wood committed three murders during his life. The first murder happened in 1942 when he killed John E. Lowman in Elmira, New York. Wood attacked Lowman by hitting him on the head with a broken bottle. After the attack, he used a knife to mutilate the body and tried to hide it under a divan in his girlfriend's home.

In July 1960, Wood killed two elderly men, Frederick Sess and John Rescigno, in their basement apartment in Astoria. One man was found with his throat cut, and the other was found with his head smashed. After the murders, police discovered two notes in the apartment. One note asked, "How do you like these two murders? O-O-O. I'm sorry." The other note mentioned the parole board, suggesting Wood felt wronged by them.

Wood had been paroled just one month before the Astoria murders after serving 17 years of a 20-years-to-life sentence for the murder of Lowman. Shortly after being arrested in Manhattan for violating parole, Wood confessed to the murders of Sess and Rescigno. Because of the similarities to his previous crime, authorities focused on Wood as a suspect. He was arraigned on first-degree murder charges on July 26, 1960.

Wood was sentenced to death in 1962 for the murders of Sess and Rescigno. He was executed by electrocution at Sing Sing Prison on March 21, 1963.