SCRANTON, PA – A 38-year-old man accused of killing two women and a service dog with a machete inside a downtown senior housing complex is scheduled to appear in court Monday morning, ten days after what the district attorney called the most horrific homicide Scranton has seen in 20 years.

Michael Willie Marquis Woods will face Magisterial District Judge Alyce Hailstone Farrell at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, December 23, 2025, for a preliminary hearing on two counts of criminal homicide and four related charges. He has been held without bail at Lackawanna County Prison since his arraignment on Tuesday, December 10, 2025.

Case Information:

• Defendant: Michael Willie Marquis Woods, 38, of Scranton, PA (DOB: August 12, 1987)
• Charges: Criminal Homicide (2 counts); Criminal Attempt – Criminal Homicide; Aggravated Assault (F1); Aggravated Assault (F2); Aggravated Cruelty to Animals (F3)
• Offense Date: Tuesday, December 9, 2025
• Next Court Appearance: Monday, December 23, 2025, 9:30 a.m.
• Court: Magisterial District Court 45-1-02
• Judge: Magisterial District Judge Alyce Hailstone Farrell
• Arresting Officer: Michael J. Schultz, Scranton City Police Department
• Prosecutor: Lackawanna County District Attorney Brian Gallagher

Woods has not requested a public defender.

The Victims

The attack claimed three lives and left a fourth victim fighting for hers.

Linda P. Fortuna, 61, and Terry M. Muller, 59, were pronounced dead from stab wounds sustained in the attack. Muller was a U.S. military veteran. Her 18-month-old golden retriever service dog, Nayla, was found stabbed to death under a bed in Muller’s apartment.

Marilyn Joan Waller, 66, remains in critical condition at Geisinger Community Medical Center. She suffered a deep chest wound and her hand was nearly severed. Her daughter, Marissa Dankulich, launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover medical expenses and lost wages.

“Her ten-year-plus home suddenly turned into a nightmare I do not wish on anyone,” Dankulich wrote.

All four victims lived on the sixth floor of the Jermyn Apartments at 326 Biden Street in downtown Scranton. So did Woods.

What Happened

The attack occurred around 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. Multiple 911 callers reported screams, visible blood, and a man armed with a machete attacking residents on the sixth floor of the seven-story building.

One caller identified herself as a victim.

Scranton police arrived within minutes and found Woods outside the building near the intersection of Biden Street and Wyoming Avenue—steps from the Steamtown Mall—machete still in hand, clothing soaked in blood. He dropped the weapon when ordered. Officer Michael J. Schultz took him into custody without further incident.

Inside, the sixth-floor hallway was covered in blood.

Fortuna was found near the elevator and apartment 608, bleeding from upper-body wounds. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Muller was found unresponsive inside apartment 608 with severe chest wounds. Nayla’s body was discovered under a bed in the same unit.

Waller was located in apartment 605, gravely injured.

Surveillance Video

Lackawanna County District Attorney Brian Gallagher said nearly the entire attack was recorded on the building’s security cameras.

“Watching people fight for their lives while they are being stabbed is unbearable,” Gallagher said at a Wednesday, December 10, 2025, press conference. “No training can ever prepare you to view tragedies such as that.”

He called the killings “pure evil.”

Police outlined the sequence in the criminal complaint: Woods left his apartment, number 612, carrying the machete. He walked down the hallway, followed a woman into apartment 608, and moments later emerged behind two victims who were on their cell phones. The stabbing began in the hallway. When Waller opened her door, Woods attacked her too.

Scranton Police Chief Thomas Carroll said Woods was still near the Steamtown Mall and the downtown business district when officers intercepted him. His quick arrest likely prevented additional casualties.

“We are very proud of our officers for their bravery, their decisive actions, and their life-saving medical aid they rendered during this horrific event,” Carroll said.

PCP Claim

According to the arrest affidavit, Woods told officers at the scene that he had smoked PCP earlier in the day. The drug—phencyclidine, a dissociative hallucinogen banned for human use since 1978—has been linked to episodes of extreme violence.

Gallagher said investigators have not confirmed Woods’s claim. Toxicology results were not immediately available.

Woods moved to Scranton from Jersey City, New Jersey, in 2020 and had lived at the Jermyn Apartments for approximately two years.

The Charges

Woods faces six criminal charges from the Tuesday, December 9, 2025, incident:

• Criminal Homicide (18 § 2501(a)) – two counts, one for Fortuna and one for Muller
• Criminal Attempt – Criminal Homicide (18 § 901(a)) – for the attack on Waller
• Aggravated Assault – Causes SBI with Extreme Indifference (18 § 2702(a)(1), F1)
• Aggravated Assault – Causes BI with Deadly Weapon (18 § 2702(a)(4), F2)
• Aggravated Cruelty to Animals – Torture (18 § 5534(a)(1), F3) – for killing Nayla

Bail and Custody

MDJ Farrell denied bail at Woods’s preliminary arraignment on Tuesday, December 10, 2025, citing the criminal homicide charges. He has remained in custody at Lackawanna County Prison since that date.

What’s Next

At Monday’s preliminary hearing, prosecutors must establish probable cause that Woods committed the crimes. Given the surveillance footage, eyewitness accounts, and Woods’s own statements to police, the charges are expected to be held for trial in Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas.

If bound over, Woods would face formal arraignment and potentially a jury trial on the homicide counts.

Current Case Status

• Docket Number: MJ-45102-CR-0000500-2025
• Incident Number: 2025-00055882
• OTN: S 1016466-3
• Arrest Date: Tuesday, December 9, 2025
• File Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2025
• Status: Active – Awaiting Preliminary Hearing

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Scranton Police at 570-348-4141 or the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office at 570-963-6717.

All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. These charges represent accusations of a crime and do not constitute a determination of guilt.