Court of Appeals Denies New Trial for a Woman Found Guilty for the Death of an Eau Claire Man

Tuesday, September 9th, 2025 -- 1:00 PM

(WEAU Staff, WEAU) The court of appeals denied 27-year-old Ezra McCandless a new trial in the 2018 death of an Eau Claire man.

According to WEAU staff, McCandless is currently serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 50 years for the death of Alex Woodworth. After McCandless’ 15-day trial that found her guilty, she appealed from her judgment of conviction and from an order denying her postconviction motion.

On the appeal, she raised numerous legal issues that she claims entitled her to a new trial and the court rejected each of her claims in a 46-page long decision. The appeal was originally put forth in December of 2023.

In 2019, a jury found McCandless guilty of First-Degree Intentional Homicide after 3 hours of deliberation. McCandless had claimed self-defense in the homicide.

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