Born in Texas, United States, U.S. Army veteran Donald Michael Santini, 65, pleaded guilty on November 16, 2023 to murdering Cynthia “Cindy” Ruth Wood of Bradenton, Manatee County, Florida, USA.
Wood was 33 when she died. She and her estranged husband Barry Wood have two children together and she has a son from a previous marriage.
Cindy filed charges against Barry, accusing him of physically abusing her and her son from a previous marriage. While she and Barry were in a custody battle for their children, Santini called her and promised to provide information about Barry that could help her win custody of her children.
Unbeknownst to Cindy, Santini has a history of previous convictions. In 1978, he was convicted of rape while serving in the U.S. Army in Frankfurt, Germany.
In 1983, Santini robbed a convenience store in Texas and was charged with aggravated robbery. Days after confessing, he disappeared.
Using Charles Michael Stevens as an alias, Santini later worked as a janitor in Longboat Key, Florida, befriended Pamela Lynn Kincaid, then 34, and moved in with her. Her children attended Cape Vista Child Care Center in Bradenton where Cindy worked as a manager.
On June 5, 1984, Santini picked up Kincaid’s children at Cape Vista Child Care Center and met Cindy there. In the evening, Cindy was seen leaving her apartment in Bradenton with him.
On June 6, 1984, Cindy went missing. On June 9, 1984, she was found dead with strangulation injuries in a watery ditch in Riverview, Hillsborough County, Florida.
A medical examiner determined Cindy had been strangled and Santini’s fingerprints were found on her body. On June 18, 1984, he was charged with first-degree murder.
After a warrant was obtained for Santini’s arrest, he disappeared again. He lived in Campo, San Diego County, California, USA under the name of Wellman Simmonds.
On June 7, 2023, the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested Santini as a fugitive in Campo. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to murdering Cindy.
CONAN Daily 