# Luke Woodham

Luke Woodham (born February 5, 1981), is a American criminal that is known for the 1997 Pearl High School shooting. He was bullied and abused as a kid. He also had killed his own mother. He was arrested for his murders and attempted murders. He was also known for getting bullied. He was abused by his mother, Mary Ann Woodham.

## Life and background

Luke Woodham was born in Mississippi, on February 5, 1981. He is the only son of Mary Ann Woodham in the Woodham family, a American family living in a house. His mother, Mary Ann Woodham, has been blaming him for his dad leaving Mary and abusing him. His father never abused Luke but he left Mary because of their divorce.
In 1986, Luke went to kindergarten at 5 years old but he was starting to get bullied by his classmates. He hated getting bullied so much that he was starting to get tired of it. Every year, he would get bullied and called names. He felt like nobody loved him and he had thoughts of suicide.
In his school once, he had a girlfriend named Christina Menefee, which he loved very much. She broke up with him once and Luke Woodham was upset about it. She broke up with him because she said that their relationship is embarrassing. After their breakup, Luke started begging her to get back with him and this made her shocked.

## 1997 Pearl High School shooting

A school shooting occurred on October 1, 1997, at the school. The gunman, 16-year-old Luke Woodham, killed two students and injured seven others at the school after killing his mother at their home earlier that morning.

## Case history
### Confirmed murders

1997 Pearl High School shooting murders
On October 1, 1997, when Luke Woodham fatally stabbed and bludgeoned his mother, Mary Ann Woodham, as she prepared for a morning jog. An autopsy report revealed that she had eleven slash wounds and seven stab wounds, including stab wounds to the heart and lungs. At his trial, Woodham claimed that he could not remember killing his mother.
Woodham then drove his mother's Toyota Tercel to Pearl High School. Wearing a trench coat to conceal the rifle he was carrying, Woodham entered the school and gave a manifesto to Justin Sledge. Woodham then fatally shot Lydia Kaye Dew and Christina Menefee, his former girlfriend, then went on to wound seven others.

### Arrest

Woodham was arrested while his assistant principal was pointing a gun at him and ordering him to get on the ground on October 1, 1997. Less than a week after the shooting, police arrested six other students, charging them with conspiracy to commit murder.

### Trials and incarceration

There were separate trials for the murder of Woodham's mother and the school shooting. Woodham's lawyer argued at both trials that Woodham was insane at the time of the killings. Jurors rejected Woodham's insanity defense at his first trial for the murder of his mother, and he was sentenced to life in prison on June 5, 1998. His second trial took place on June 12, and he was found guilty of two counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder, with the jurors once again rejecting the insanity defense. He was given two life sentences for the murders and seven 20-year sentences for his attempted murder convictions. He is currently serving three life terms plus an additional 140 years in prison. He will be eligible for parole in 2046, when he is 65 years old.

## Victims

| Name | Sex | Age | Date of murder | Place of murder | Cause of death | Weapons used |
| Mary Ann Woodham | F | 50 | October 1, 1997 | Mississippi, U.S. | Bludgeoning | Knife and baseball bat |
| Christine Menefee | F | 16 | October 1, 1997 | 500 Pirate Cove Pearl, Mississippi, U.S. | Assassination | Marlin Model 336 .30-30-caliber rifle |
| Lydia Kaye Dew | F | 17 | October 1, 1997 | 500 Pirate Cove Pearl, Mississippi, U.S. | Assassination | Marlin Model 336 .30-30-caliber rifle |