Jan. 19--Up to the moment he learned he will die in prison, William Robert Woods professed his innocence.
It didn't matter that President Judge Thomas J. Munley found him guilty of 19 counts in October, including first and second degree murder and arson.
"You never looked for another suspect," Woods, 44, said Friday, his image projected from State Correctional Institution-Somerset on a flat-screen television in the Lackawanna County courtroom shortly before he was handed his sentence.
For setting the 2009 West Scranton fire that killed brothers Taevon, 9, and Michael Miles, 10, he will serve two consecutive life terms plus another 37 to 74 years in state prison.
After announcing the sentencing, Munley said, "I thought about the two innocent children that died --because Mr. Woods set that fire."
"You don't know that," Woods interrupted, drawing a rebuke from the judge to be quiet.
"He showed no remorse," the judge continued.
The boys' mother, Tyaisha Leary, had the chance to address her ex-boyfriend before he learned his fate.
Looking up at the television screen, she told Woods he "robbed" her of her children. She reminded him of their past, when he tried to be a father figure and took the two boys fishing and to football practice.
"I had trusted you with my most prized possessions," she said, as tears rolled down her face. "I want you to know what you took from me. I can't get it back."
Leary also faced Woods during the trial, taking the stand and testifying to hearing the last cries of Michael screaming "Mommy" as flames engulfed their 166 S. Hyde Park Ave. home on July 21, 2009.
"My babies are in there! Please get them!" she yelled to Scranton fire and police responders as they rushed to the scene.
During his trial, Woods considered testifying and told his public defenders, Cathy Tully and David Cherundolo, he wanted to defend himself.
But when the moment came, he chose not to and let Munley know why.
"It's not going to change your decision," he told the judge at the time. "You already have your decision made up."
Following Friday's sentencing, Lackawanna County District Attorney Andy Jarbola said "the evidence led right" to Woods.
"I have no doubt in my mind that he is the person that committed this crime," Jarbola said, who prosecuted the case along with assistant district attorneys Christina Byron and Mark Giannotti. Scranton police Fire Inspector Martin Monahan was the lead investigator.
"Two young children lost their lives in this heinous crime," Jarbola said. "I think the judge sent a clear message."
Investigators believe Woods used lighter fluid to start the fire. Before setting the blaze, his relationship with Leary started disintegrating.
He threatened to burn down her home, slashed her car tires three times and charged at her with a knife. She broke off the relationship and obtained a court-approved PFA.
"I started serving my life sentence on the day my kids died," Leary said.
[email protected], @smcconnellTT
Copyright 2013 - The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
