November 10, 2014.
Three days before her son’s first birthday, Whitney Burr was organizing a celebration. She was expecting her second kid at the time. That day, Whitney was scheduled to travel to Party City with her mother, 35-year-old Lesley Woodman, to pick up items for the celebration.
Whitney told Dateline, “The night before was the last time I spoke to her.” However, she always answered the phone, and I was unable to reach her throughout the day. I simply didn’t feel comfortable about it.
To see how she was doing, Whitney’s then-boyfriend took her and their son to Lesley’s house in Bessemer, Alabama, where she lived with her lover Ellis Lee Bentley. According to Whitney, the screen door was closed and the door was open. I entered by myself.
Nothing looked unusual to Whitney as she searched the house for her mother. According to her, it appeared to be a typical day with nothing out of the ordinary. There was nothing damaged. I mean, everything was exactly where it should have been.
After that, Whitney went to her mother’s bedroom and discovered something terrible.
Whitney said, “She was in the bed.” She was shot in the face by someone who entered.
Lesley’s mother, Jimmie Guyton, was in Florida at the time of her daughter’s murder. But a few days before that, she had been driving across Alabama. She told Dateline, “I just decided to stop by her work.” We had a nice discussion. I told her I loved her after she told me she loved me.
According to Jimmie, her daughter is an inquisitive, gifted, and happy young lady. She stated Lesley was really gregarious and humorous. She used to get compliments from her coworkers about how understanding and sweet she was.
Jimmie reflects on her daughter’s early years as a cheerleader, gymnast, and academically talented student, recalling her life as full of energy. She explained that they gave her extra work because she was in a special class at school for intelligent kids. What a sweet young child she was. She simply had that old energy, and she rarely cried.
Whitney Burr claims that their mother-daughter bond was solid and that her mother was doing quite well before her life was cut short. She claimed that we were really close. She was definitely my closest friend.
Lesley began dating Ellis Lee Bentley, also known as Lee, around 2012 or 2013. Lee claims that Whitney’s friendship with his daughter led to his meeting Lesley. He joked that Lesley refused to go out with him the first few times he asked, saying, “You know, I liked her right off the bat.” Almost every day I asked her out, and, well, [she] did. Additionally, we remained by each other’s sides from the moment we began dating.
Lee described Lesley as an infectiously happy person. It was one of the many things that drew him to her. He told Dateline, “You would be in a bad mood, and she would come around and you would be in a good mood.” She was constantly joyful. I’ve never actually seen her depressed.
About six months after they began dating, Lee and Lesley moved into their Bessemer house.
Lee recalls Lesley telling her that she would get things for her grandson’s first birthday celebration the next day on the evening of November 9, 2014. He remarked, “I recall her being really happy about that.” It was a huge, huge deal. Lesley was still asleep when Lee informed Dateline that he had left for work the following morning. When I went, I didn’t wake her up or anything. You know what I mean when I say that I’m positive I kissed her. as I always did in the morning. He recalls leaving the house at about eight in the morning. He said, “I was running late.” I didn’t lock the door when I hurried out. Every time, I lock the door.
For ten years, Whitney has been troubled by what she witnessed later that day. She stated that when I found her in bed with a hole in her face, that was the only thing I could see most of the time. Whitney, who was eighteen at the time, said that after discovering her mother, she went into a frenzy. She clarified, “I tried to call the police, but I couldn’t.”
After waiting outside in the car with their son, her ex-boyfriend finally entered the house to find out what was happening. In the end, he called them on my behalf. He also gave Robert Guyton, Lesley’s stepfather, a call. Because I couldn’t, he called and told [him] what had happened, Whitney added.
Robert had to inform Jimmie that her daughter had passed away. When Bob picked me up from work and we proceeded to my friend’s house down the street, he informed me that Lesley had left, as Jimmie recalled. “What do you mean, gone?” I asked. Where did she go? Then, at last, he revealed that she had been killed.
Jimmie told Dateline that it is impossible to describe the type of anguish that comes with losing a kid. A part of her brain refused to accept the news when she heard it. That was awful, of course, she said. I simply couldn’t imagine my life without her because I loved her more than everything.
Lesley’s family has spent the last ten years trying to figure out who would have wished to hurt her. According to Jimmie, she had many pals. However, no one we knew intended to hurt her in any way. Whitney concurs. She stated that no one had come to mind. She was adored by all.
Whitney also revealed a detail about how she discovered her mother’s body that still baffles her. She claimed that the strange thing was that her pants were down. Given that my mother slept with her hands clasped together, she was undoubtedly asleep. And that’s how I came across her.
Lee Bentley told Dateline the Jefferson County Sheriff s Office questioned him several times in the months following Lesley s murder. I was telling them anything I knew, he said. We didn t have nobody that would ever do nothing like this to us, you know? And it wasn t a bad neighborhood.
Lee says the only thing taken from the house was a small lockbox that belonged to him. That s all they took, he said. I used to keep money in it. And that s the only thing I can kinda figures that would be why they would just take that one thing.
Jimmie and Whitney both told Dateline about a house near Lesley and Lee s home in Bessemer that had been burglarized on the same day Lesley was murdered.
Dateline reached out to the Jefferson County Sheriff s Office public information office multiple times for comment on the case but has not heard back. In 2017, Sergeant Wayne Curry of the Jefferson County Sheriff s Office told alocal TV stationhe believes the burglary, in which he said a gun was among the items stolen, and Lesley s murder are connected. However, we haven t ruled out anything, he said. We haven t ruled out any reason because we just don t know.
Lee Bentley says the aftermath of Lesley s murder left him feeling lost. He kept living in their home for a short period until he couldn t stay there anymore. He says he now chooses to reflect not on Lesley s death, but on the happy memories he has, like their first date. We talked till daylight, he said. I miss her every day.
He also longs for the day Lesley s case is solved. For a while, it consumed me, he said. I wanna know who did it so bad. I wanna know who come in my house and just violated I mean, yes, I would love this case to be solved. Anything in my power I would do for this case to be solved.
Whitney Burr, now the mother of five, realizes the pain of losing her own mother and finding her in the way that she did is something from which she may never fully heal. It was really, really hard, she said. It still is. I can t say it, you know it s been 10 years, but it s just as hard as it was day one.
Jimmie Guyton takes comfort knowing that whoever killed her daughter will be brought to justice. I would like to see them punished, she said. But I I don t have to see it to know that they will be. Because down the line, when they have to stand before God, He knows what they did. And He ll deal with it.
Anyone with information about Lesley Woodman s murder should contact the Bessemer office of the Jefferson County Sheriff s Office at (205) 481-4201.
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