
Photo by Melissa Meske
Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons (at podium) was joined by Jersey County State’s Attorney Ben Goetten, Jersey County Sheriff John Wimmersberg, Alton Police Chief Jake Simmons, and several other key personnel at a press conference April 12.
Charges were announced April 12 against a Jersey County man alleged to be responsible for the 2010 death of Bonnie Woodward of East Alton. In a case full of unknowns for the past eight years, family members said afterward that they still grieve but can finally start to gain some closure.
Roger W. Carroll, 52, of Jerseyville, was charged with three criminal felonies in Jersey County in connection with the death of Woodward and is being held in Madison County Jail without bond. He was also charged with aggravated kidnapping in Madison County.
The first and second counts outline special class felony charges of first-degree murder. Charges filed indicate that “on or about the 25th day of June, 2010, in Jersey County, Illinois, Roger W. Carroll committed the offense of First Degree Murder.” Court filings state Carroll shot Woodward multiple times with a Stoeger Cougar 9mm luger.
The third count is a Class 3 felony charge of concealment of a homicidal death. Documents indicate that “said defendant, with knowledge that Bonnie Woodward had died by homicidal means, knowingly concealed the death … by placing her in a fire and burning her body.”
Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons was joined for the announcement by Alton Police Chief Jake Simmons, Jersey County State’s Attorney Ben Goetten, Jersey County Sheriff John Wimmersberg, and several other key personnel involved in the investigation.
Gibbons confirmed it was “human information,” not forensic information, that led them back to the area, where officials were able to re-examine details and come to the determinations announced at the press conference. Goetten also noted that Madison County Lead Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Mudge had been appointed as special prosecutor as the case moves forward in Jersey County.
“With the warrant issued and signed by Judge (Eric) Pistorius indicating no bond, procedurally the next step will be a hearing to determine bond, which would likely take place within the next week or two,” Goetten said in an interview on Friday.
He noted this would take place once Carroll was transferred into Jersey County custody.
Goetten also confirmed charges had been filed last month against Carroll in Jersey County for unlawful restraint and aggravated domestic battery after a domestic incident between Carroll and his wife, Monica. Filings listed on the Jersey County circuit clerk’s website indicate that order of protection and divorce paperwork had also been filed.
In 2010, Carroll was charged in Madison County with obstruction of justice for allegedly giving false information regarding the disappearance of Woodward’s stepdaughter, Heather Woodward. It was further alleged Heather was staying at the Carroll residence after running away from home at age 17. Heather turned 18 shortly after being reported missing and appeared at the East Alton Public Library on July 3, 2010, identifying herself.
Officials declined to discuss if Heather’s disappearance had any direct connection to Bonnie Woodward’s murder.
Bonnie Woodward was 48 at the time of her disappearance in 2010. She was last seen talking with a man in the parking lot at her workplace of Eunice Smith Nursing Home in Alton. Co-workers said they saw Woodward talking to a man fitting Carroll’s description the day of her disappearance.
Woodward’s vehicle was found to still be in the nursing home parking lot following her disappearance. Her fingerprints were later discovered on Carroll’s vehicle during a search of Carroll’s residence and his boat.