Grandfather: A cross with lights on for Lyric Woods ‘because she was afraid of the dark’
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The deaths of Lyric Woods & Devin Clark
On Sept. 18, 2022, two missing teens were found dead with gunshot wounds in Orange County near Efland. Here is ongoing coverage from The News & Observer of the investigation, its aftermath and trial.
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Update: The Orange County Sheriff’s Office announced a suspect Tuesday in the deaths of Lyric Woods and Devin Clark. For more on this developing story, go here.
Even after her death, Stan Dean wants to protect his granddaughter, Lyric Woods.
“I put the cross here with the lights on it,” Dean said Tuesday morning, his voice cracking as he stood by the handmade memorial in western Orange County.
“Because she was afraid of the dark,” he explained.
Woods, a 14-year-old freshman at Cedar Ridge High School, and Devin Clark, an 18-year-old senior at Eastern Alamance High, were found shot and killed off Buckhorn Road on Sunday. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office has not announced any arrests or suspects.
Now, at the spot where their bodies were found, sits the red cross that Dean crafted in their honor. A spread of red roses, blue daisies and late-summer lilies lie at the foot of the cross.
Although hidden from view from the main road by overgrown grass and wildflowers, friends and community members have found their way to the dusty clearing under the power line where Dean placed the cross.
“I’m living a nightmare,” he said.
Seeking justice for his granddaughter, Dean is offering a $10,000 reward for information on her death. He has asked anyone with information to contact the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Hours before Woods disappeared, Dean had taken her out for ice cream at a local parlor. He recalled the two smiling and enjoying what would be their last moments together.
“She was so beautiful,” Dean said. “She was a little kid in an adult woman’s body.”
Two weeks ago, Dean said, Woods had started high school and joined a travel volleyball team. “She was really good,” he said.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” he said.
Woods “trusted everyone” and assumed the best in other people, he said.
“The minutes are too long,” Dean said. “We’re just taking it breath by breath.”
This story was originally published September 20, 2022 at 12:28 PM.
