A Shattered Christmas on ID will look into Maryland pastor Samual Booth’s murder case from Christmas Eve 1994. The special airs on the network this Friday, December 22, 2023, at 10 p.m. ET. An official synopsis says, “The chilling murder of a local Maryland pastor on Christmas Eve in 1994 sets an entire town on edge and sends detectives on the hunt for a heartless killer.”
In Essex, Maryland, churchgoers found pastor Samual Booth stabbed to death in his trailer home on Christmas Eve in 1994. The following morning, a 24-year-old man named James Wood confessed to the murder. He also admitted to stealing $77 from the victim, as per the Washington Post. During the investigation, police confirmed that they also found drugs at the murdered pastor’s trailer home.
Who murdered Maryland pastor Samual Booth & why?
According to the New York Times, pastor Samual Booth and his killer, James Wood, were acquaintances. A church member even claimed that Booth often fed Wood in his trailer home and, on one occasion, even let him stay there. The latter stabbed the 55-year-old pastor to death inside the same trailer home on Christmas Eve in 1994, where churchgoers found his body.
On Christmas morning, Wood confessed to the killing. Baltimore County police believed he used a six-inch kitchen knife to stab Booth repeatedly, per the Washinton Post. The killer also admitted to stealing about $40 worth of crack and $77 from the victim. Investigators working on the case took blood samples and fingerprints from the trailer. They also recovered the murder weapon, a knife. Officers also found drug paraphernalia hidden in the bathroom while searching the pastor’s trailer home.
The Cinemaholic further stated that Wood claimed he and Booth were abusing drugs for a few days. The 24-year-old was outraged when the latter refused to provide more drugs. In a fit of rage, he stomped on the pastor’s head and ribs before using the kitchen knife to stab him. In his admission, the killer also revealed that he slit the victim’s throat and let him bleed to death.
As per The Cinemaholic, James Wood was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder as well as robbery with a deadly weapon count. He received a life sentence without parole in 1995 with an additional 20 years. Wood is reportedly serving time at the Jessup Correctional Institution in Maryland.
ID’s A Shattered Christmas airs this Friday, December 22, 2023.
