2019-08-12

Cause No. 32,180B
Charge: Stalking (f3)
Sentence: 10 years

Katasha Woodard Stalking Conviction

The victim in this case, Shawn Swatzell, shared a child with Katasha Justine Woodard.

Swatzell and Woodard's relationship ended shortly after the birth of their daughter. Shawn was designated primary custodian while Woodard received standard visitation.^[1] After several years, Swatzell began dating another woman, eventually marrying her.

By 2019, the pair were living as a blended family, In addition, at about this time, custody arrangement was modified to where Swatzell was given full custody. Woodard was limited to supervised visitation. The custody order was modified a second time, restricting Woodard to only therapeutic visitation.

Woodard did not exercise her visitation after the second modification.^[1:1]

August 12, 2019 - Welfare check

On August 12, 2019, law enforcement personnel responded to a call for service at 6002 Cornell, Amarillo, Texas. The officer who responded had responded to a similar call for a welfare check the previous day at the same address.^[2]

During the first welfare check the previous day, the child in question was seen to be in a good mood and playing. It was then found that the mother, Katasha Justine Woodard had called in the request for a welfare check, explaining that she did not agree with the child's father having full custody.

The father, Shawn Swatzell, told law enforcement that Woodard was calling in frequent welfare checks following the modification in their custody orders.^[1:2]

The day of August 12, however, the call for service was due to Shawn's wife calling police. A tire had been slashed and Shawn, who arrived after law enforcement did, requested that Woodard be trespassed.

Sometime in the early evening, Woodard was on the phone with the daughter she shared with Swatzell, telling her to meet her in front of the house. Swatzell's current wife took the phone and told Woodard not to come to the house, as she did not have visitation at the time per the court order.

Woodard disregarded the statement from Swatzell's wife and arrived at the door a short time later. Swatzell's wife locked the door and stayed inside with the children while Woodard slashed a tire on the other woman's suburban.

A neighbor of Shawn and his wife's was able to attest that she had seen Woodard in the area at the time the tire was slashed. Law enforcement trespassed Woodard, communicating the warning to Woodard.

In response to the trespass, Woodard became angry, telling law enforcement that she would go back over there and "damage [Shawn's wife]'s face."

She also stated that "in two weeks I might forget I'm trespassed and go back there."

Despite the statements, Woodard was not arrested that day for any offense.

July 21-23, 2020

Woodard returned to the home on July 21, 2020, making demands to see their child.

Swatzell went onto the patio, locking the front door behind him. As he spoke with her, he tried to keep a distance of five feet between him and her because he was uncertain of her next actions.

He tried to explain to Woodard that she had been trespassed and was not supposed to be on the property. He also tried to explain that she needed to set up visitation through the therapist appointed in the court order.

In response Woodward yelled that Swatzell had stolen her child and began yelling "she was going to kill him and his family. 'And you can take that as a death threat."

The neighbor who had identified Woodard as being near the property the same day she slashed the tire testified that during the exchange, Shawn was "calm, cool, and collected. He never raised his voice."

Woodard left the property, but would return later on the same day. This time, she held a baseball bat over her shoulder and went on Facebook live to broadcast her personal grievances. On the live stream, she aired her displeasure with the modified custody arrangement and expressed outrage towards what she called 'lax enforcement' of custody orders by law enforcement.

Also on the live stream, she stated that she planned on murdering Swatzell, that she planned on "beating the fuck out of baby daddy" and that she was "going to prison for the rest of her life for killing this son of a bitch."

Swatzell called police when he saw Woodard return with a bat. He also stood between Woodard and his cars as she had a habit of destroying his cars.

Police were called to the property and found that Woodard had a trespass warning against her. When police arrived, Woodard was several houses away but said she knew she was trespassed but went door to door looking to see her daughter. The baseball bat was on the ground some distance away.

Police found that Woodard had several weapons on her that she told police she carried "for her safety" as she didn't have a car at the time and walked around town. The weapons found on her person included the baseball bat, two knives, and the meat thermometer.

She was arrested for Criminal trespass.

Soon after Woodard's arrest, her ex-husband sent Swatzell a recording of the Facebook Live. Swatzell expressed fear for his safety in response and installed surveillance cameras, a security door, deadbolts on the fences, and trained his children on what to do if they saw Woodard.

December 5, 2020

Early one morning, around 7:48 a.m., Shawn saw Woodard outside of his home on his video surveillance camera, as did his wife.^[1:3] She wore a beanie and black sweater and came to the front door of the home, then began to knock.

One of Swatzell's wife's adolescent sons went to answer the door, but refused to open it. Woodard told the boy that she had a package to deliver and needed him to open the door and sign for it. The boy again refused and said he would call police.

Then, numerous police officers arrived on scene, banging on the doors and windows to get someone in the home to answer. Woodard's parents were the ones to contact law enforcement in this incident. Woodard had left a note with her neighbors that morning before departing for Swatzell's home. The note instructed them to contact her parents because she would be going to jail for murder.^[1:4]

July 14, 2021

On July 14, 2021, Woodard wanted to speak with her daughter, so she went to the home with a bat in her backpack. Swatzell heard knocking on the door at 6:45 a.m. and saw her on his camera and made the decision to not answer the door.

When he did not answer, Woodard began to hit Swatzell's car with the baseball bat. The camera did not capture her actually hitting the truck with her bat, but it did pick up the sound of the bat pinging off the truck.

She caused extensive damage that included a broken sideview mirror, a scuff mark on the window, crack in the tailgate, some scratches and dents on the side panel. In all, the damage totaled $1,800.

Arrest and Indictment

On June 4, 2022, Randall County Sheriff's Office sent out a notification to the public to avoid the area of 5126 Chisholm Trail after a warrant was attempted to be served but led to the subject barricading themselves.^[3]

Through traffic of 53rd street was blocked off for that time.

Several hours later, officers announced they had arrested Katasha Justine Woodard, who was wanted on charges of Criminal Trespass and Criminal Mischief.

Woodard was indicted in June 15, 2022 for her conduct towards Shawn Swatzell from July 2019 through July 2021.

October 3, 2023 - Trial

On October 3, 2022 Woodard pled not guilty and proceeded to a trial by jury in Randall County. Attorney Joseph Batson was appointed to represent Woodard.

At trial, Shawn testified that he was worried about Woodard's behavior and was let down that someone could be like that towards family.

On October 5, 2023 the jury found Woodard guilty of stalking and sentenced her to 10 years in TDCJ.