Keith Woodward (Broward County Sheriff”s Office).
Court documents reveal the troubling details of the case, highlighting Woodward’s alleged motive: his mother’s need for constant care due to her medical condition. According to a probable cause affidavit, obtained by ABC’s local affiliate WPLG, the situation escalated as the mother and son were trying to contact a caregiver around 11:20 a.m.
After a brief break, the elderly woman went to lie down in her bedroom. It was then that Woodward reportedly seized a frying pan from the kitchen and attacked her, sparking a fierce struggle. The affidavit details how Woodward allegedly attempted to suffocate his mother with pillows while she fought back, desperately gasping for air and repeatedly shouting that she couldn’t breathe.
Despite the brutal attack, the mother managed to escape by sliding to the floor and fleeing outside, with Woodward in pursuit. However, he stopped the chase, overcome with guilt, and subsequently called the police on himself. Woodward reportedly expressed remorse to the authorities, acknowledging that he felt he was “going to hell” for his actions.
Woodward allegedly got on top of his mother and “attempted to smother her with pillows from the bed.” His mother fought back by pushing and pinching him while “repeatedly yelling that she could not breathe,” the affidavit stated per WPLG.
The victim was able to escape from her son’s grasp by sliding to the floor and then running outside as he chased her. Woodward eventually stopped chasing her and felt guilty, so he called the cops on himself. He reportedly said he was “going to hell” for what he did.
Paramedics transported the “alert and conscious” victim to the hospital. She suffered “severe bruising,” and doctors were still trying to determine the “true extent of her injuries” at the time cops submitted the affidavit.
Woodward is being held at the Broward County Jail without bond.
