After nearly four decades, a Florida man featured on “America’s Most Wanted” was arrested and extradited in connection to the murder of Cynthia Ruth Wood.
Donald Santini, 65, was wanted for the death of 33-year-old divorcée back in June of 1984, authorities confirmed. He was arrested in California this week and returned to Florida to stand trial.
Investigators said the two crossed paths in the mid-1980s when Santini promised Wood he would provide information about her husband that could help her win custody of her children, according to reporting from Tampa Bay Times.
The two were said to have met up on June 6, 1984, and Wood wasn’t seen again until three days later when detectives found her body in a drainage ditch, she appeared to have been strangled to death, The Tampa Bay Times reported.
An autopsy confirmed that Wood, a mother of three from Bradenton had been strangled. A witness told detectives that Charles Michael Stevens, a known alias used by Santini, had confessed to her he killed Wood, according to The Tampa Bay Times.
Stevens was one of three aliases he had used before Wood’s death, Tampa Bay Times reported.
He fled Hillsborough County almost immediately after he was identified as a suspect, according to the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office.
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A criminal history
Being charged with the murder of Wood wasn’t the first time Santini had gotten in trouble with the law. While he was serving in the U.S. Army in Frankfurt, Germany in 1978 he was convicted of rape, according to Tamba Bay Times.
He was later charged with aggravated robbery in 1983 in connection to a convenience store robbery in Texas, his home state. Santini disappeared a few days later after confessing, Tampa Bay Times reported.
The next time he was seen, he had changed his last name to Stevens and was working as a janitor in Longboat Key, Fla. There, he began a new life and befriended the woman who would later tell police Santini confessed to her, according to the Miami Herald.
The woman’s children children went to a day care nearby called Cape Vista Child Care Center, where Wood worked as a manager.
At that time, Wood had filed charges against her estranged husband, Barry Wood, for physically abusing her and her son from a previous marriage, according to Tampa Bay Times.
The two were involved in a custody battle over their two children at the time of her death, according to the Miami Herald. The charges were later dropped after she died, with the court records sealed.
A long standing cold cases sees resolution
Multiple police agencies, including the FBI, have worked to looked for Santini since he evaded arrest with investigative requests sent to Texas, California, even Thailand without any luck.
Even with several appearances on America’s Most Wanted in 1990, 2005 and 2013, he was never located. Santini had used at least 13 aliases while on the run, according to arrest warrant from the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office.
He was arrested on Wednesday by a task force in San Diego, records from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department show.
A tip from Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force led U.S. marshals to Campo, located in southeastern San Diego County, where they arrested Santini, according to KGTV, an ABC affiliate in San Diego.
Santini arrived at Hillsborough County Jail in Tampa early Wednesday morning, but he was initially arrested in San Diego in early June.
“The arrest of Donald Santini brings closure to a long-standing cold case and provides justice for the victim and her family after nearly four decades of waiting. Let’s not forget the tireless work that has gone into this case over the years, the resources, and expertise to pursue justice for Cynthia Wood,” Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said.
According to Amanda Granit, a spokesperson with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office told USA Today the case is still active as authorities re-examine evidence collected in 1984.
“While that process is underway, we want to protect the integrity of the investigation and can not release any further details.”
