A Dickeyville man remains in jail following an incident in the Village of Dickeyville Saturday evening. Todd Woodward appeared in Grant County Circuit Court on Monday where he remains held on a $25,000 cash bond. Judge Robert VanDeHey also ordered Woodward to have no contact with his mother or step-father. Woodward was already under a no contact order with his step-father from a previous incident.
According to the Grant County Sheriff's Department, deputies responded to a report of a woman covered in blood walking on Highway 35/61/151 near Dickeyville at approximately 5:45 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4.
A passing motorist came across the woman, stopped and called 9-1-1. Deputies arrived on scene to discover Nancy Ernzen, 67, Dickeyville, had sustained multiple lacerations to her head and face. Ernzen was quickly transported by the Dickeyville Rescue Squad to Mercy in Dubuque for her injuries.
Through an investigation, deputies learned Ernzen's son, Woodward, 38, Dickeyville, was the offending party. Within a half hour, Woodward was located at the Tower Motel in Dickeyvile where he was taken into custody.
Woodward apparently was upset with his step-father, Nicholas Ernzen, 67, Dickeyville and had gone to his mother's residence while Nicholas was at church. Woodward had made comments about hurting or possibly killing his step-father.
Authorities believe Woodward was at his mother's house waiting for Nicholas to return to ambush him. Woodward had kept his mother from leaving the residence and alerting Nicholas or the authorities.
Woodward was at the residence for approximately two hours during which time he was verbally and physically abusive to his mother. Nancy Ernzen was punched, kicked and struck with a chair. Woodward also threw a chair at a window causing it to shatter. Woodward then used a shard of glass from the broken window to cut his mother's forehead. Nancy was eventually able to escape the residence through a basement door. Nancy then ran to Highway 35/61/151 in an attempt to intercept her husband before he got home. Nicholas was uninjured in the matter. Nancy was later taken to Iowa City due to the extent of her injuries.
The Sheriff's Department was assisted in the matter by Dickeyville EMS and the Wisconsin State Patrol.
Woodward was charged with one count of false imprisonment, one count of domestic aggravated battery, one count of disorderly conduct, one count of criminal damage to property, one count of use of a dangerous weapon, six counts of bail jumping (Woodward was out on bond for a disorderly conduct offense that occurred two weeks prior).