Woods was arraigned April 8 before Judge Caroline Wojtaszek at Niagara County Court on charges stemming from the February 14, 2026 shooting death of his wife, Alexis Skoczylas, at their shared residence in Lewiston, Niagara County. The judge remanded Woods and set May 8 as the next court appearance date.
The Attorney General's Office of Special Investigation brought the case under New York Executive Law Section 70-b, which requires OSI to assess every incident where a police officer or peace officer may have caused a person's death, regardless of whether the officer was on or off-duty at the time. The statute covers situations involving armed or unarmed victims and applies whether the decedent was in custody or not.
Woods faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison if convicted of Murder in the Second Degree. He was initially arrested immediately after the shooting and previously arraigned on February 15 by Town of Somerset Justice of the Peace Pamela Rider in Niagara County's centralized arraignment part.
The case represents the Attorney General's ongoing authority to investigate and prosecute police-involved deaths across New York State. OSI conducts a full investigation whenever its initial assessment indicates an officer caused a death, expanding the office's jurisdiction beyond traditional state law enforcement matters into local police accountability.
The Attorney General's press release emphasized that criminal charges are merely accusations and that Woods is presumed innocent unless and until found guilty at trial or by plea. The case marks a significant domestic violence prosecution involving a law enforcement officer in Western New York.
The prosecution will test the Attorney General's special jurisdiction over police-involved deaths in cases where officers allegedly commit violent crimes while off-duty. Legal observers will watch how the case proceeds through Niagara County Court and whether it sets precedent for similar prosecutions of law enforcement personnel.