State v. Travis Edward Paschal Wood, C-08-CR-22-000688
LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Thursday, October 23, 2025, a Charles County jury, after a four-day trial, convicted Travis Edward Paschal Wood, 36, of First-Degree Murder and Use of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime of Violence in connection with the murder of his wife, Shawnda Nicole Wood.
On December 9, 2022, Wood and his female cousin entered the Charles County Sheriff’s Office District Three Station in Waldorf to request a welfare check at Wood’s residence. Wood told an investigator that he had been suicidal the night before, requested a welfare check, and asked for his lawyer, but did not provide further details.
Officers responded to the 2300 block of Tawny Drive and entered the home through an unlocked front door. During a search of the residence, officers discovered a silver and black handgun on the couple’s bed, as well as the deceased victim, who had suffered a single gunshot wound to the back of her head.
An investigation revealed that on the night before the shooting, Wood, the victim, and their three daughters went out to eat and shop before returning home to put the children to bed. Wood and the victim later went to a hookah lounge, had drinks, and returned home around 2 a.m. At home, the victim confronted Wood for urinating on the floor outside of the bathroom and told him that he needed to be out of the house by the weekend. While the victim lay in bed asleep, Wood retrieved his registered firearm and shot her one time in the back of her head.
At approximately 8:30 a.m. on December 9th, Wood woke his daughters and told them they were going to visit their grandmother and instructed them not to wake their mother and not to go into her bedroom. Wood dropped his children off at their grandmother’s (his mother’s) house. After dropping them off, Wood remained at his residence for a few hours before going back to his mother’s house. He then confessed to his mother that he shot and killed his wife. After his confession, Woods went back to his house for a period of time before eventually going to the police station.
Wood’s DNA was later found on the firearm used during the murder.
A sentencing date for Wood has been set for January 8, 2026. He faces life in prison plus an additional twenty years.