Avon Lake man charged with attempted murder in wife's alleged stabbing

An Avon Lake man who allegedly tried to kill his wife on Dec. 3 at their Wedgewood Drive home is now facing five felony charges. Woodie Francis, 78, was indicted Thursday in Lorain County Common Pleas Court on one count of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, and one count each of disrupting public services and possession of criminal tools, all felonies. He also is charged with one count of domestic violence, a misdemeanor. The charges allege that he stabbed Deborah Francis with a knife in an attempt to kill her and tried to prevent her from calling for help by dialing 911 or communicating with emergency services. Woodie Francis was being held in the Lorain County Jail on $500,000 bond, according to jail records. The case has not been assigned to a judge, and he has not yet been arraigned before a judge or entered a plea. Attorney Kevin Spellacy, who is representing Woodie Francis on the charges, said Friday that he hadn't yet seen the indictment. He said he and his client are working on posting bond. According to the Avon Lake Police Department, Woodie Francis called police just before 9 p.m. Dec. 3 and told them he had stabbed his wife and she needed help. Officers responded and found Woodie Francis in the garage at the couple's home in the 700 block of Westwood Drive. At a Dec. 11 preliminary hearing in Avon Lake Municipal Court, an officer testified that Woodie Francis had blood on both of his hands when officers arrived and admitted to stabbing Deborah Francis. She was found in a recliner in a home office, bleeding heavily and got first aid from responding officers. The knife allegedly used to stab her was found on a table. Deborah Francis was found with "obvious wounds" to her neck, chest and hands according to the police and testimony in Avon Lake Municipal Court. She was taken to University Hospitals St. John Medical Center in Westlake, where police said she was in stable condition as of Dec. 11. The couple has four sons; three of whom attended their father's preliminary hearing in Municipal Court on Dec. 11 and hugged him before he was returned to the Lorain County Jail. Deborah Francis filed for divorce from Woodie Francis on Wednesday, according to Common Pleas Court records. She also apparently filed for divorce in June 2014, according to court records, but the couple appears to have gone through the conciliation process and the divorce case was dismissed in October that year, according to court records. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.