The Trials of Frank Carson · Los Angeles Times

The incredible evolving story of Robert Woody | 3

·46 min·3 clips

Robert Woody describes Corey Kaufman’s body being fed to pigs, then insists he acted alone.

1. The Trials of Frank Carson, episode “The incredible evolving story of Robert Woody,” follows Robert Woody’s changing accounts of Corey Kaufman’s death. 2. Christopher Goffard hosts and reports the Los Angeles Times series, while Robert Woody matters as the prosecution’s only supposed eyewitness against Frank Carson and the Atwal brothers. 3. The episode asks whether Woody’s shifting statements describe firsthand knowledge or a story shaped by investigators and pressure. 4. Corey Kaufman disappeared before a hunter found his bones in the mountains, and DNA confirmed Kaufman’s identity in August 2013. 5. Frank Carson ran for Stanislaus County district attorney against Burgett Flattiger while her office investigated whether he was involved in Kaufman’s killing. 6. Kirk Bunch and other investigators lacked physical evidence and sought an eyewitness who could connect Carson and the Atwal brothers to Kaufman’s death. 7. Miranda Sue Dykes, known as Sunny, wore a wire after police learned that Robert Woody had allegedly bragged about a murder. 8. Woody told Dykes that Kaufman was a nuisance, that pigs consumed the body, and that Woody had acted alone while stealing material from a property. 9. Frank Carson told Goffard that Woody’s drug-fueled statement was unreliable and that Carson had never instructed Woody or Bobby Atwal to use violence. 10. During an interrogation, Bunch warned Woody about first-degree murder, life without parole, and the death penalty while offering cooperation as a “golden opportunity.” 11. Woody repeatedly said his confession was empty talk based on rumors, including after investigators suggested that his family and the Atwal brothers would testify against him. 12. A bathroom break preceded Woody’s later statement that he had seen Bobby Atwal attacking Kaufman, although Woody denied punching, kicking, or touching Kaufman. 13. Investigators Steve Jacobson and Kevin Dombey supplied possible dates, routes, weapons, tools, burial depths, and locations as Woody’s account continued to change. 14. Woody alternated between saying the body went directly to the mountains, returned to the Poppin’ Cork, or remained in a shallow grave before later transport. 15. In the Stanislaus National Forest, Woody indicated a location that Deputy District Attorney Marlisa Ferreira said was five feet from Kaufman’s skull. 16. Goffard notes that the mountain journey was not recorded from the start and that evidence flags near the remains were not visible in the produced video. 17. The episode uses recorded interrogations, jail calls, investigative commentary, and Goffard’s reporting to present competing interpretations of Woody’s credibility. 18. Its tone is investigative and restrained, with narrative reconstruction built around transcripts, missing recordings, changing testimony, and prosecutorial strategy. 19. Listeners interested in interrogation methods and contested murder evidence will appreciate the episode. 20. Listeners seeking a resolved courtroom conclusion may prefer a later episode.

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