TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — One of the women convicted in the Alpine Manor murders of 1987, has been released from prison.
Catherine Wood was convicted of second-degree murder for her role in the 1987 deaths of five elderly victims at Alpine Manor nursing home in Walker.
Wood has been serving her sentence in federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida. She has been released to go live with her sister in South Carolina.
Family members of the victims objected to the Michigan Parole Board's October 2018 decision to grant Wood parole, and requested an appeal of the decision.
John Engman's mother-in-law, Mae Mason, was one of the victims.
"I can't say enough good about her quite frankly....she was....my children had the best grandmother ever," says Engman.
The Kent County Circuit Court first ruled that more information was necessary, but Judge Rossi issued a new opinion on Oct. 15 stating that the board had not abused its power by recommending Wood be eligible for parole.
A co-defendant, Gwendolyn Graham, was sentenced to life without parole. Graham, 55, is in a state prison in Ypsilanti.
Wood served 30 years on a sentence of 20 to 40 years.
"I feel sorry for the people who have to live around her quite frankly....I think she is a danger to society," says Engman.
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