MENOMINEE, Wis. — The young woman accused of murdering her former lover spent the entire day on the witness stand Monday, testifying in her own defense.
Ezra McCandless described driving to a country road with her ex-boyfriend Alex Woodworth while talking about their breakup, then getting stuck in the mud.
McCandless testified that Woodworth came onto her, while holding a knife, and when he began cutting McCandless' clothing and pricking her skin she feared he was going to kill her.
"I’m afraid he’s going to kill me because he has a knife. And I’m afraid he’s going to take whatever he wants and he’s just going to finish this," McCandless said. "I was wondering if he was going to kill me and then kill himself so he didn’t have to be alone."
McCandless testified that she kneed Woodworth in the groin, causing him to drop the knife, which she then picked up. Then she said Woodworth grabbed her.
"As Alex is grabbing me, I started stabbing him anywhere and everywhere I could. I didn’t know what was happening. I just needed to get away. I just needed to get out of the car," Woodworth testified.
Finally, McCandless addressed the self-mutilation that she initially blamed on Woodworth.
"OK, everyone wants to know, why did you scratch ‘boy’ into your arm?" asked defense attorney Deja Vishny.
"I’ve thought about it. And when I think about this, I don’t know. At that time, it’s something that just happened. It was just a reaction. I really, I don’t know why I did this," McCandless answered.
On cross-examination, the prosecution focused on inconsistencies between McCandless' testimony and the versions of the story she told investigators after it happened.
For example, she told police that she grabbed the knife away from Woodworth by the blade, before using it against him. Now she testifies that he dropped it when she kneed him.
As testimony ended Monday afternoon, prosecutors said they still have about an hour of cross-examination that will continue Tuesday morning.
McCandless spent the morning calmly answering questions from Vishny about her relationship with ex-boyfriend Alex Woodworth, from how they met to their sex life. She also read portions of essays the two had written each other.
Vishny also asked about Woodworth's alleged interest and preoccupation with cannibalism.
Q: Did he continue to have these discussions with you about cannibalism? Beyond writing about them?
McCandless: All of the time, yes. To consume that individual’s power, or to consume that individual so that the person they loved would never leave them. He considered himself a revenant. (someone who has returned from the dead with unfinished business)
On her sexuality, Vishny asked McCandless about Alex preferring her as a male, which she identified as during a period of time.
McCandless: I told him about how I identified in the past as almost strictly masculine. He preferred that I presented myself in a masculine way. He often told me how confident I looked and how he was attracted to me because he could call me a boy, his boy, and present that way.
Q: Did you present yourself as a male to Alex?
McCandless: Yes, I did. The word became more possessive. I was his ‘boy.’ It felt objectifying at times. I felt as if I was an object. That I was Ezra McCandless, essentially, but that I was ‘his boy.’
Both prosecutors and her defense team acknowledge that the 22-year-old McCandless stabbed Woodworth 16 times in March 2018, killing him. What is at issue is whether the act was murder, or self-defense.
During cross examination, Vishny asked McCandless about the knife, which she said belonged to her father because he often gave her knives for various situations, like to cut a seat belt following a crash, or for self defense.
Q: How did you get that knife?
McCandless: That knife was a knife my dad had given me. He always likes to make sure I’m prepared for every situation.
Q: Did you put it in your car the morning of March 22?
McCandless: No. It was in and out, always.
Q: Did your father every say anything to you about having a knife in your car, specifically for self-defense?
McCandless: Yes.
Q: What did he tell you?
McCandless: What I recall my dad telling me, he would tell me when you’re in a situation with an individual or someone is attacking you, you need to do anything and everything you can to get away. To defend yourself. He would tell me you can use knives, you can kick you can scratch, you can fight.
During opening statements McCandless' attorney Aaron Nelson said she met up with Woodworth that day to talk, for closure about how they broke up. They drove to a country road, and there, Nelson said, Woodworth forced himself on McCandless and began cutting her clothing off with a knife. Nelson said it turned into a struggle, and McCandless managed to get the knife from him.
The prosecution says this case is entirely about something else.
"This case is about an extreme anger, and a twisted form of love," said Dunn County District Attorney Nodolf, who maintains McCandless was sexually involved with three men and killed Woodworth in a desperate attempt to recapture the relationship she wanted with another ex.
"Throughout this trial, you will see who the real defendant was," Nodolf said.
For more on the McCandless murder trial go to the Court TV website.