A Father's Pain

This is a partial transcript from "On the Record," November 28, 2005, that has been edited for clarity.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: Now to New York City, where police are investigating the grisly murder of an aspiring dancer. Twenty-one-year-old Catherine Woods moved from Ohio a few years ago with dreams of dancing on Broadway. But last night, she was found face down in a pool of blood inside her Manhattan apartment.

Joining us in New York is Catherine's father, Jon Woods. Jon, I never know what to say to a parent under these circumstances. The words are just inadequate. Your children are supposed to outlive you.

JON WOODS, DAUGHTER MURDERED IN NEW YORK CITY: I know. It's — it's — it's crushing.

VAN SUSTEREN: Jon, I know the depths of your sorrow and everyone else who's followed this, but at the same time, everyone's got to try to find justice for your daughter, and I assume that that process has begun. Have you had a chance to talk to the police and see how far they are in this investigation?

WOODS: Well, it seems like they're still, you know, maybe in the middle of the investigation. I haven't had any definitive answers one way or the other where they're moving.

I was notified last night when three Columbus policemen came to my home and told my wife and I that our beautiful daughter, Catherine — and she was beautiful inside and outside — was dead. She had a great passion for dance when she was 3 years old. She studied dance in elementary school, middle school, high school, competed, did very well, and then had a dream of coming to New York. She has been very successful so far in New York. She finished high school early, in December, so that she could practice dancing. And scaring all of us, she decided to come to New York at 17.

We had a number of Ohio State people help her when she came, find her an apartment, keep an eye on her, help her get a job, help her get established and started, and she survived very well. The first audition she had was with a company that was supporting a singer, and they needed five dancers and they had five understudies. She made one of the regular dancers, went on tour her very first time to New Orleans and Chicago, Los Angeles. And then she auditioned for a couple of companies, dance companies, and one of them that toured the East Coast college circuit, has been teaching dance here in New York.

And more recently, she got interested in Broadway, started taking voice lessons. Just a couple of weeks ago, she auditioned for "Sweet Charity" and made three cuts. I was waiting to hear. In the meantime, she made an off-Broadway show, called "The Privilege." And a week ago, someone was sick and she went in and actually had her first chance here in New York to be on the stage to sing and act. And she was so excited about this and continuing to pursue her dream, and the dream just ended.

VAN SUSTEREN: Do you know anyone who might want to harm your daughter? Do you know anything about the apartment building? Were there any problems in the building?

WOODS: No. That's, I think, one of the things that concerns everybody. The area of New York that she lives in, the Upper East Side, is one of the best places, we've been told, for someone to live, especially — you know, when we first brought her here, people who know New York City helped us locate a place in that area that was reasonable in terms of rent and a very nice location. And things like this just don't happen in that area, and so everybody is just sort of shocked about the whole thing.

VAN SUSTEREN: Who was the last person to see her who you know of?

WOODS: Well, the last person that saw her, that we know of, was a boyfriend that said he came home and had seen her, went out, worked on his car and came back and found her in a pool of blood, called 911. And when they got there, she was dead.

VAN SUSTEREN: How long was he gone? So what was that window of opportunity, according to this boyfriend?

WOODS: Well, it seems to be around a half an hour.

VAN SUSTEREN: And your daughter had never reported that she was frightened or terrified of anyone or anything like that?

WOODS: No. She had a wonderful personality. She got along with everyone. She, you know, tried to be careful and not get herself in situations that could be problematic. She had a great personality. Everybody loved Catherine. And you know, she was just like the starving artist. She worked in a restaurant. She taught dance. She was, you know, in a show.

VAN SUSTEREN: And had a big dream in New York, like so many young people.

WOODS: Yes.

VAN SUSTEREN: Jon, thank you. And of course, our condolences. I hope that your daughter does get justice, and I hope that it's swift for the family. Thank you, Jon.

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