A California man who kidnapped 26 children on a bus more than 40 years ago was recommended for parole.
Joe Orlando of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told CNN on Tuesday that Frederick Newhall Woods, 70, was approved for parole.
He was one of three individuals who kidnapped 26 children and their bus driver in Northern California in 1976. All 27 people on the bus were taken from Chowchilla to Livermore, which is more than 100 miles away, before they were placed into a truck buried alive in a quarry.
The kidnappers demanded $5 million in ransom while the victims were buried underground. After about 16 hours, the driver and the children were able to escape while the kidnappers were asleep.
“I’ve had empathy for the victims which I didn’t have then,” he said, CBS News reported. “I’ve had a character change since then.”
“I was 24 years old,” Woods added. “Now I fully understand the terror and trauma I caused. I fully take responsibility for this heinous act.”
While the children and driver did not suffer any serious injuries, many reported psychological harm after the incident. Some of the children were as young as 5, according to reports.
Darla Neal, who was aged 10 at the time, said that she suffers from “extreme anxiety” over the incident.
Two other men convicted in the case, Richard Schoenfeld and James Schoenfeld, were paroled by California authorities in 2012 and 2015, respectively.
Woods and his attorney, Dominique Banos, told the court last week that he hadn’t had any disciplinary issues since his last parole hearing in 2019. Just prior to that, Woods had faced disciplinary action for running an unauthorized Christmas tree farm and a gold mine from prison.
The parole decision will become final within 120 days. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has 30 days to review the decision and can allow it to stand or send it back to the full board for another review.
