Murder by the ½ Dozen

By Warren R. Kemp

This is a true story of greed and hatefulness that led to 6 murders by 4 hit men in 6 short months, hired by the Woodman Brothers.
A story of close knit family ties that ended in one mans wanton taking life. Steven Homick masterminded the ruin and devastation of the Woodman family.
Ray Gregory, Bobby Jean Tipton, Marie Bullock, James Meyers, Vera Woodman, and Gerald Woodman were the six that dies by his hand as he orchestrated murder and mayhem.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 7, 2013
• ISBN: 9781477245422

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© 2013 by Warren R. Kemp. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 01/26/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4772-4543-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-4542-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012912796

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Dedications

Foreword

The Tipton Murders

The NINJA Murders

Autobiography

The Meeting

Yellow Banana Down (Air West)

New Products

The Axing

Strang Ways

Ownership Change

My Axing

Woodman Industries

Bankruptcy

Recall Or Back In The Saddle Again

Alterations And Subterfuge

A Day Of (AR (rest))

Business * But

(Not As Usual)

The Stewart Woodman Trial

Explosives

Murder Racketeering Trial

The Opposite Of Alzheimers

The Gas Chamber

The Good Olde Days

Thoughts

Sam Wanamaker

The Neil Woodman And

Homick Brothers Trial

Reflections

Melody

Summation

Nevada

Godfrey’s Murder

The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out.

THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULEY

1800-1859

Dedications

To my wife Winna—who tolerated for many years my extensive travel and has stuck with me for 50 years.

To Hillary, Maxine and Wayne—the remaining son and daughters of the late Vera and Gerald Woodman. We join them in their continued sorrow.

To our friend Melody who has made a new life for herself.

To Vera’s sisters and their husbands who must still feel the loss in their hearts.

MURIAL, SYBIL AND GLORIA.

God Bless them all.

Foreword

Many people go through life without murder touching them. There have been millions of murders—The doing away with someone usually for financial gain.

Police, in looking for and tracking down the perpetrators usually first start checking on the family background. Family members have a reason to murder. That culprit usually has something to gain. There are the wanton killings by serial killers. They might focus in on young girls—girls with long hair-old women (Boston Strangler) or men in the slums that are down on their luck. Burkowitz (the son of Sam) now is talking in prison. He says now that he had help and that he did not act alone. He would just walk up to cars and shoot the young occupants. Theodore Bundy, a nice appearing lawyer type started in Washington and Oregon. He chose his victims at random. He went to Utah—was jailed once. They brought him to Colorado on murder charges. He escaped again. He wound up then in Florida where his sickness got worse. Bludgeoning several co-eds and raping and killing a teenager.

There was Charles Manson who sent out his killers in the Sharon Tate and La Bienca slaughters. George Gacey killed and buried his victims at his home. Richard Speck killed several nurses when in a stupor. Dahlmer killed them and then resorted to cannibalism. Millions of people have been killed by hit men. Paid killers of people they didn’t even know. They are the most difficult assassins to apprehend.

This is a case of greed and hate by two sons spurred on by a $500,000 insurance policy on their mother. They foolishly hired the Homick brothers, who they knew intimately and had hired previously to perform some dirty tricks. In my own person thinking both Woodman brothers were involved.

This is a true story of greed and hatefulness that led to 6 murders by 6 hit men in 6 short months.

A story of close knit family ties that ended in a one man’s wanton taking of life. Steven Homick masterminded the ruin and devastation of the Woodman family.

Ray Gregory, Bobby Jean Tipton, Marie Bullock

James Meyers, Vera Woodman, and Gerald Woodman were the six that died by his hand as he orchestrated murder and mayhem.

You will find that one more trial in Los Angeles will have to be consummated before both are found guilty. A person is deemed innocent until a guilty verdict is brought in. Earlier I brought up many types of murderers. I feel Steve Homick belongs with this group. He was not a serial killer but his sickness was escalating. Heaven only knows how many more might have been struck down if he was not stopped. As you will read later on, Dave Tipton, the husband of the heiress Bobby Jean Tipton said he hated Steve Homick. He said, look at him in court. He is enjoying himself. Homick had become a head shooter. He made sure always going for the head. Michael Dominguez, his stooge, on the other hand was a sprayer. Throw the shots out and hope one hits a vital spot. You will read where he was sent by Steve on a hit. He fired 6 bullets at a couple. They are still amongst the living. It was Dominguez who was the weak link in Homick’s killing machine. You will find in later chapters that Dominguez sang like a canary in Las Vegas, copped a plea bargain, and got only 25 years to life with a possibility of parole in 13½ years.

Breaking his parole and being implicated in the Tipton murders he blurted out details in the L.A. Ninja murder case. He told of the Gregory murder and his involvement.

I plan to take you on a journey back in time. I first met Gerry Woodman and he hired me in 5 minutes. Gerry was 37—I was 42 and the young Stewart was only 17. For the next 20 years I have a vivid memory for recall of the events and what transpired to bring the Woodman family down in ruins.

I want to write to you about Nevada. All the postcards I could end to you could not take the place of a description of the things you could see if you came for a visit. My wife and I moved here in 1981. We lived in Long Beach, California for 31 years. I was from Westwood, New Jersey and graduated from high school in 1942. I enlisted in the Air Corp. I went into the cadets and became a pilot at 19 years of age and a B-29 pilot at 20. This coming July 7th we will be married for 50 years. I met my wife Winna in Maine at a camp on the Saco River. She was from Malden, Massachusetts. In 1938 at Biddleford, Maine I was still only 13. We kept in touch over the years and I proposed in the summer of 1944. She was in Indianapolis, Indiana and driving her car for the first time. She quit her job and came to New Jersey for our wedding on July 7, 1944. After getting out of the Air Corp in 1946 we both accepted jobs at a camp in Maine on Damarascotta Lake. Gene Tunney, who beat Jack Dempsey in the controversial long count fight, had his two sons there at the camp. I had the fortune to meet him a couple of times. He lost only one fight in his life to a Jimmy Grebb. I went to three colleges. Butler University in Indianapolis, Rutgers University and South Dakota State. I graduated in May of 1950. I spent many years in selling. I was a sales manager, national sales manager and a vice president. The last 20 years in the plastic business. I had 17 men out in the USA the Caribbean and No. South America. I retired in 1986. I came out of retirement in December of 1993 going to work for the new Home Depot store in Reno. You are probably wondering where Sparks, Nevada is. It is the city taking up the N.E. portion of Reno. It is a city within a city. Everyone says Reno but should say Reno-Sparks. We live in the higher portion of the city to escape the smog. We left Long Beach because of the smog and traffic. Thousands of others are coming here and it is the fastest growing state in the Union. One advantage is that we have no stated State Income Tax. Like in most states the tax is deducted from ones paycheck. Not in Nevada. We have only an average rainfall of 9 inches a year. We are the driest state in the Union. We went through a 6½ year drought, broken this last winter. This year is dry again. There is a lot of snow though in the high Sierra’s. West of us are a lot of snowcapped mountains. Have your teacher tell you about the ill-fated Donner party. Almost 100 tried to get through the Donner Pass west of Truckee, California. They were heading west and got caught up in tremendous snowstorms. Almost ½ of them perished. They were starving to death and were miraculously saved at the last minute. We have the most beautiful lake south of there. Lake Tahoe is deep, colorful and ringed with inlets and trees. The water runs out to the north into the Truckee River. It then heads east through Reno Sparks. Eventually it runs north and dumps into the Pyramid Lake. This is a lake almost as big as Tahoe and the fishing is controlled by the Pyote Indians. They have two big fisheries and stock the lake continually. There are several good fishing spots besides these two lakes. Topaz Lake is 60 miles south of Carson City on the Nevada-California border. Walker Lake is south and east and is another good-sized body of water. Surely you have heard of Mark Twain. He wrote many stories and books and you will like his works. During the Civil War Abe Lincoln was proud of Virginia City, Nevada. They sent millions in gold and silver to Washington to finance the Federal onslaught against the south. Virginia City is equi-distance from south Reno and Carson City, the capitol. It is in the mountains around 18 miles from Reno. Around 1859 settlers were heading west to the California mother load area looking for wealth and good fortune.

They did strike some gold in the canyons and gullies and decided to someday return. California was too important to pass by. When they did start to mine and proceeded up towards where Virginia City is, they found their mining hampered by ugly blue earth, or as they called it, blue stuff. Later one of the prospectors took some of it to Grass Valley California to be assayed. It turned out to be almost pure silver. They rushed back and tried to keep the find a secret. They wanted to buy up as many claims as they could from the unsuspecting. Towns grew up over night like Silver City. There was a community called Gold Hill. The real strikes took place right in the downtown area of Virginia City and the mining even went under the streets. Stock was issued on most of the mines and millions were being made. By a fluke of nature, during the prehistoric days, a rift and upheaval took place that made it the richest mining area in the world. One described it as many feet wide and long and the vein went deep into the bowels of the earth. Thousands rushed to the city and it became wild with drinking and gambling, and the crooks came too. They were not about to go down into the mines and swelter and salve for a days wages. They decided to steal instead. The stock skyrocketed. They were mining everywhere looking for other strikes. After the Civil War the mines began to give out. Mark Twain had become the city printer of the paper. A famous opera house was the scene of many get togethers. The downfall occurred due to flooding. They were at a loss to figure out what to do. They cut all the timber they could all the way to Lake Tahoe and put it down the holes. A Mr. Sutro had said they must shore up the mines and honeycomb them much like the bees do. He even proposed digging a relief canal to let the water run out to the valley below. Eventually the mining was over and the town was reduced from a 25,000 population to under 1,000. Today it is a tourist haven and well worth visiting. It is at around 7,000 feet and well preserved. Winna and I have been there around 10 times. It is a real historic place.

Perhaps some of you will see Tombstone at the movies. Wyatt Earp was the most famous bar owner in Nevada history. On October 26th, 1881 in Arizona, at the OK Corral, Wyatt and his three brothers and a dentist took just 30 seconds to dispense of three of the Clanton-McLaurey gang.

In the ½ minute each side shot 17 times and the event has become famous. Over the years everyone wanted to play Wyatt or Doc Holliday. Randolf Scott, Henry Fonda, Burt Lancaster, James Garner, Harris Yulin, Hugh O’Brien all played Wyatt. Ceasar Romero, Victor Mature, Kirk Douglas, Jason Robarts, and Stacy Keach all played Doc. This version was my favorite as Kurt Russell as Earp and Val Kilmer as Holliday were excellent.

One of Wyatt’s brothers James did not take part in the Tombstone affair. James died in California in 1926. Morgan, who was wounded seriously in the fight was ambushed in Tombstone in 1882. Warren, the youngest Earp, was killed in Wilcox, Arizona in 1900 by a saloon keeper over a bottle of whiskey. Wyatt and Virgil eventually moved on to California but Wyatt came to Tonopah, Nevada in 1903. Tonopah is mid-way between Las Vegas and Sparks. Wyatt bought the famous Northern saloon and refereed fights for Tex Richard. He had met Tex in Nome, Alaska in the late 1990’s. Rickard and Wyatt had gone to the Klondike seeking fortunes. Wyatt brought Virgil from California and he helped with law enforcement at the National Club in Goldfield. Virg died of pneumonia in 1905. Wyatt eventually returned to Pasadena, California and died there in 1929. Three years later Hollywood had its first movie on the Earps. From time to time Nevada has been host to some famous people besides Earp. Thomas Edison, Sarah Bernhardt, Barnie Oldfield, Howard Hughes and several presidents.

A book has been written by two authors who did not even know the family. They gathered their data from police reports, got some information from family relatives, and took statements from Steward Woodman. They did not verify the facts given and bought Stewart’s story of vindication. He said many of the things to defend his own warped opinion of himself. He chastised his parents. Berating them and making them look like the heavies. In other words—they were so mean to me that I had a right to have them killed. Stewart, through these authors, used his egotism to make it look like he did it all. It was above him to say that it was others who made the company an early success. According to him he was the one traveling all over the U.S.A. for 2 to 3 weeks at a time. He was handling the sales and doing all the hiring and firing. He is a bald faced liar because it was me, Warren Kemp. I was the national sales manager and later V.P. of sales that did the work and coordinating. Stewart sat at home content to use the phone, call his bookie and plan jaunts to the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas. I wrote him a letter to this effect recently. I feel a little sorry for him as he has diabetes, vision problems, heart problems and something is wrong with his pancreas. He tips the scales at around 310 pounds. At 44 years of age he is in bad shape. I told him no one can condone his actions, and his ex-wife Melody said to me on the phone—Stewart threw it all away.

The year it all started (1966) a close knit Jewish family assisted by a well-to-do father-in-law Jack Covel from Manchester, England got into the flat plastic sheet business. Vera the eldest daughter and her 3 sisters were all furnished homes on the same street as Jack’s.

Nevada is number one in mining of precious metals. They are even mining a little in Virginia City. When gold is around $4395 an ounce and silver over $5.00 an ounce they step up production. The heavy mining today is north and east in the Humbolt Sink and from Winemucca east to Elko. They have new methods of extraction from crushed rock and ore.

Gold once went to $800 an ounce and silver to $50.00. I was in a Holiday Inn in Albany, New York around 1982 when the news came down.

Nevada is a beautiful state and I do hope some of you come for a visit some date, in the future.

Everyone your age must ponder and wonder about what life has in store for you. I was lost a little in my teens and had decided on college in 1942. Instead the war gave me a clear-cut answer. In your cases I hope your teacher reads some of my philosophy to you. They say a persons personality and traits are formed from the baby years. If the parents didn’t want a child from the start they might be cruel and hateful and mistreat the infant. We have a case here in Nevada where a father took his infant son and killed him by hitting him against a wall. Parents have to show the love and devotion to a child if they expect it to survive and become a good citizen. Children should consider their parents and their teachers as good people that want them to succeed. The sign of a good child is to obey. If they are asked to clean up their room or do some chores then they should tackle the job and do a superior job with no griping. Make up your mind that you are being given a golden opportunity to form a wonderful career for yourself. Make up your mind that someday you will pay back your parents and your teachers for their sacrifices. You are walking along an honest, true path right now. You are bound to come to some crossroads and face some temptations. You may be lured into, and be foolish enough, to try drugs. You will take a left turn and find that it is a one-way street and you can’t even turn around. Drugs are for fools, idiots and easily led dolts. Do not, and I emphasize this, ever even try them because the other kids say it won’t hurt you. Don’t try them so you can prove you are cool and help. Don’t be a jerk and a know it all. Associate with friends that are not hop heads and feather brains. Smoking and drinking are for the weak and it is drugs in one form or the other. I once knew two Liggett and Myers salesmen who told me that each time they hooked a young smoker on their brand it meant Oodles of money, in the 10’s of thousands of dollars for them. Once hooked a smoker will find it hard to quit. The nicotine goes to every cell in your body. It causes a craving for more. Don’t start to be chic and to show bravado. Let the others pay the fantastic price for the weeds. Sit down with a calculator and multiply the cost of one days smoking times 365. Find something else to do with this money. The same goes for drinking. If the parents both smoke and drink it will be easy for your bad habits to be formed. They will probably condone your taking up the habits. Step back and realize what slaves they have become. Alcohol can be the root of all evil. Taken in excess can cause a multitude of problems. In Nevada they give you all the free drinks you want while gambling. This loosens wallets and like drinking and driving lowers ones good sense. It’s no wonder the casino’s make so many million’s of dollars. Barnum once said there is a sucker born every minute. If you are drinking now, stop and look at the consequences. If you are taking it up big time I can tell you that the jails are full of DWI (drunks). A waitress we know was just sent to prison for one year for her third offence. Everyone has a difference in tolerance to drugs and alcohol. They are habits that can kill you. Thousands are dying of lung cancer and liver deterioration everyday. The liver has to break down that filthy stuff you keep pouring into it everyday.

If you’re a young man prepare yourself for the future by giving yourself a pep talk. Improve on your public relations. Be friendly and go out of your way to be nice to people. Be courteous and learn simple things like holding the door for your mother and showing a courteous demeanor to your parents. Treat others as you would want to be treated. Get out of any mold you are in where you are considered a wise ass. Go down that path and don’t look left or right when you know that the shortest distance to success is to go for it, without diversions. If you have the God given talent given to you don’t waste it. Buckle down and learn from your books and the intelligent people you cross paths with in person and in books. Reading is one fine hobby. You will not only profit from it but it can show you what happened to others that were in your boots as a teenager. Don’t look down your nose at any profession that will become your destiny. I spent around 50 years in selling and public relations. It is like the question of what came first, the chicken or the egg? Is a salesman born or is he self made? If you want to be a salesman go for it. If you want to be a lawyer or a doctor go for it. I know two professions that can pay you handsomely. Plumbers get a lot of money. If you want to make