Josh Carr

Cody Knows The Truth Justice? In who's resume?

Josh Carr & Cody Wood were more than acquaintances, they were friends. I first met Josh in May of 2001 when he came to work for Keirns Construction, where I had been working since April. He was a very likable guy who worked hard and got along with everyone around him. We all grew to like him and when Melissa and Cody came into his life we could see that his happiness only grew. The first time I met Cody I was at the county fair and saw him with Josh, they were having a great time together. My Family and myself all thought Cody was adorable. I had only known Josh for a few months but knew he would be one of my closest friends when we gave each other nicknames, mine from Josh was "Yoda", I can only assume that he looked up to me and thought I was a friend whose knowledge he could grow from. Mine for him was "Mini-me" because we both have the same first name and he reminded me a lot of myself when I was younger.

Often at work Josh would ask me for advice and we would talk about what was going on in each others lives. I remember when he told me he had met Melissa and thought that he would like to date her. I gave him my thoughts on the subject and he then mentioned Cody. I told him that everything I had told him was still true but, if he did get involved with Melissa he would be getting involved with Cody as well, and if they should ever break-up he would have to deal with the added pain of losing Cody. He thought and said that was his dilemma, until he took that chance he wouldn't be able to tell if he and Melissa would make it and he wouldn't want to lose a child he thought of as his own. I had seen Josh around his cousin Scott a few times as Scott and his mom lived just down the block from us. I knew that if Josh was going to take a "leap of faith" we would be diving in head first and not looking back. As time went by I saw Josh, Melissa & Cody quite a bit, Melissa would stop by the job-site during lunch with Cody often, just to say hi and so Cody could see Josh. Cody would usually have some chicken nuggets or cookies which he gladly shared with Josh. They shared a bond beyond a relationship, it was something more... and Melissa seemed just as happy. They stopped by my house a few times and Cody would play with my two boys and seemed happy around them also. We also had been to Josh's parents house for a barbecue and it seemed that he would be happy forever.

For Halloween Josh, Melissa, my wife and myself went to a party at a friends house where we all hung out and relaxed a bit. They came over and we all got dressed up in costume laughed and enjoyed ourselves. Around that time Josh approached me at work with a strange question, he asked me how I asked my wife Sherri to marry me. I probably looked a bit puzzled and asked why he wanted to know that, he replied with a statement that told me he was no longer the little brother I thought of him as, but a maturing young man looking toward the future. We talked about what a relationship should be before marriage came into the picture and how if he took this step he may frighten Melissa away. We also talked about the responsibilities involved in being a dad and husband. He took it all in and I asked him to think about it before making his decision. Unfortunately That day would never come. On November 18, 2001 Cody died of internal injuries while in Josh's care. From What I had seen of Josh and Cody together I KNOW that Josh would never have hurt Cody in any way on purpose. It may have been an accident on Josh's part that caused Cody's injuries but, Josh loved him with all his soul and without knowing may have caused more damage by trying to save Cody. In October of 2002 Josh (in my opinion) was wrongfully convicted of the first degree murder of Cody Wood. I would call this a severe breakdown of the judicial system and may never believe in it again. I was not present when Cody died nor was I present for the whole trial but,in my heart I believe that Josh was wronged. I believe that somewhere along the way someone or something caused the jury to turn their backs on the true law and the facts presented in the courtroom. I witnessed many occasions when Melissa treated Cody in a manner not fit for an 18 month old child. I also witnessed occasions when I as a father would have swatted my child's behind yet Josh would take Cody and sit him in a "time-out" by himself. Overall I believe that Josh may be young but, as a father he did not fail. He was a protector and a mentor for Cody. He was probably the best thing to ever happen in Cody's short life, and now he is supposed to pay with his own...

On November 26, 2002 Josh will be sentenced with a mandatory life imprisonment term without a chance of parole for his accident. It is my opinion that this will NOT be an accident but a fatal flaw in the justice system. Somewhere along the way a person or several people made a conscious decision to take this young man's life away from him. The biggest accident occurred when Josh believed that the system would not fail him, that if he told the truth and cooperated justice would be served. It is more likely that if ALL of the witnesses would have told the truth and if they all had photographic memories and if they were honest people, he would have been set free a long time ago. True I am his friend but I also believe that if this were someone else I would still believe that some type of coercion or fraud had been committed here. The "long arm of the law" is often as crooked as the cracks in the sidewalk in my opinion. This case only proves my point.

Josh Maes

If you happen to agree or were a juror in the case and feel you made the wrong decision,

I am a friend of Joshua Carr. I testified briefly on his behalf on October 23rd. I do not feel that the right questions were asked.

I trusted Josh with my own children on many occasions and they are very fond of him. He was always great with children. We bowled together on Friday nights and often would have to call him back to the game because he was busy playing with all the children at the bowling alley

Josh is a very sweet young man. When the verdict was read I couldn't believe it, how can this young man pay for this tragic accident with his life?

I am not sure what you were told about little Cody Wood. From what I read in the newspapers and heard second hand from people at the trial, Cody sounded like a happy, healthy 18-month-old boy. I feel that there is so much more to the story that was not disclosed. I realize that Melissa Wood was not on trial but I believe she should have been. I am outraged by the fact that she herself has walked away freely from partial responsibility for Cody's death. Cody was not a healthy child. In the four months I knew Josh, Melissa and Cody I saw Melissa spank Cody in an "out of control" manner, I visited Cody in the hospital on 3 different occasions when he had supposed mysterious illnesses. We received a phone call from Josh telling us of Cody's head injury that occurred while he was in Melissa's care, and that he wondered why she hadn't seemed to notice it and hadn't taken him to the hospital earlier.

Cody always looked ill. The day I met him was at the Larimer County Fair in August 2001. Josh was there with Cody while Melissa was at work. He had him buckled into a stroller and I asked if I could hold him. I lifted Cody out of the stroller and made a mental note of how light the child was, his shoulder blades seemed to be protruding from his back. I asked Josh, who at this time had only known Melissa and Cody for about two months, what was wrong with Cody. He stated that Melissa had said that "He was just a skinny kid." I reluctantly accepted it then and now wish that I hadn't.

Cody had been in our home on several occasions, he was very timid, he wouldn't play with the other children, when he would try to walk, often times he would fall after a few steps. He would scream at the top of his lungs whenever Melissa would leave the room, he clung to her. After taking several psychology classes in college, I learned that children often cling to their abusers; I started to believe that this might be the case. No, I am not an expert but the situation with Melissa and Cody never felt "right" to me.

I visited Cody in the hospital during the first week of November 2001. Melissa and Josh told me that the doctors were not sure what was wrong with Cody. He had fluid in his lungs and a swollen liver. Cody looked horrible, he was breathing very shallow and he had a lot of fear in his eyes. When I got up to leave, Josh got up to walk me out. We were approaching the door when I noticed Melissa waling behind us. I said to her, "Shouldn't someone stay with Cody?" (There was no one else in the room). She said back to me, "If I wasn't here the f**kin' nurses would have to watch him anyway, that's what they get paid for." I was astonished at her comment, she left the room with Josh to walk me to my car. When we got to the car she told me that social services had been called and had left a little while before I arrived. I was relieved; I hoped that something would come of it for poor Cody's sake. Nothing ever did.

It is my understanding that social services have been involved in the lives of Cody and Melissa on more than this one occasion. I am boggled by the way child protection services works. Why didn't they see what I did? Why didn't I call them and tell them what I saw? I feel like a fool as well as they should. Cody was not a happy, healthy baby, he was miserable.

I honestly believe that if Cody had been well, without a swollen liver and his other ailments, he would not have died. Josh surely did not intend for this to happen and has paid dearly within himself. I do not believe that he should have to pay for an accident with his life.

Sherri Maes

I am writing in defense of Joshua James Carr whom was wrongly convicted on 1st degree murder in the accidental death of Cody Wood. I am appalled at all of the coverage over the so called "Grieving Mother" of this child. I have know Joshua for many years and I met MeLissa Wood a few years back and was pretty close with her for quite awhile. In the time that I was friends with her before she met Joshua, I witnessed the neglect that her child received in her care. She was by far, an unfit mother, in my opinion. I used to babysit Cody on occasion and actually called social services after one day in particular. I had Cody this day and he was so sick and malnourished that his skin was actually green. I also have witnesses to this. The media and MeLissa are making Josh sound like some monster who murders innocent babies. I have a 5 year old child and to this day, I will trust him with my daughter's life. I think it is time that people know the truth about poor MeLissa. What about the fact that social services was called on her 8 times by her own family? How about the fact that she left him in the care of a known drug dealer while she went out and partied? She was sticking by Josh until the DA told her,and I quote, “They are gonna charge me with child abuse, if I don't testify against him!" Her exact words. There are witnesses to that. All of a sudden, she started to play the "Poor Mother" role. Josh was the only chance Cody had in this world to actually have a good life. It was MeLissa's neglect that actually killed her child, not Josh. I am a witness to this, and I have faith in the system that they will find that what Josh did was an accident, and he will live with it for the rest of his life. But he does not deserve to spend the rest of his life in prison, because, in that case, MeLissa is just as guilty, if not more. I would appreciate it if you would please print this, so it can set the story straight about Ms. MeLissa Wood.

Jennifer Brockel

I am writing in defense of Joshua Carr, my nephew. I, too, had the chance to see Josh and Cody together, and MeLissa and Cody together, as well as all three of them together. I recall one day in particular, when Josh had come to my home to help me with some construction repair. He had Cody with him while MeLissa was at work. We had to stop what we were doing several times so that Josh could tend to Cody's needs, i.e., diaper changes, lunch, and just funning and loving.
MeLissa came to my home after she got off work and I invited them to join myself and my son for dinner, roast beef and all the trimmings. MeLissa prepared Cody's plate for him and the only food that she offered him was green beans and two very tiny pieces of meat. I could not believe my eyes, babies love mashed potatoes and gravy. As Cody ate, using his fingers as most children that age do, MeLissa slapped his hand several times and told him to use his fork, when Cody didn't obey her, she moved his plate away from him and told him he couldn't have it until he was going to eat like a Big Boy. I often wonder if she was a perfect child, because she sure had a lot to learn about being a mother. Josh tried to talk her into just letting Cody eat and she refused, as a result, Cody went hungry.
While Cody sat with nothing to eat MeLissa had a second helping of everything on the table and commented on how good everything was, then proceeded to tell me that if meals were left up to her everyone would starve, because she was only able to make Mac-N-Cheese, and grilled cheese sandwiches. How does any one, especially an infant/toddler survive and be healthy on food like that?
MeLissa took Cody away from the table, and Josh took him outside to play with him. MeLissa, proceeded to tell me that she was very angry with her family, in mom and sister in particular, because, they had turned her in to social services for child abuse/neglect. She didn't go into detail about what the accusations were, but did tell me that this was not the first time. I wonder if social services ever investigated?
During Josh's trial, MeLissa testified, and when asked if Cody was or had been anemic, she answered, " Not that I was aware of." Shortly after that, one of the Drs./ coroners testified that Cody was anemic and had in fact been receiving supplements in his diet to correct it..hmmm….don't you think that if your child had been in the hospital as much as poor Cody had been that as a parent and primary care giver, that you would know what you were giving your child and why? Wouldn't you know what your child's ailments were and what needed to happen to make them go away? Hmmmm….makes me wonder….
I personally shutter every time I think of what the judicial system has done with this case, as well as the media. In my opinion, the blood thirsty media tried and convicted Josh, long before the jury had ever been selected, and they were able to do this with the help of the underhanded long arms of the law, who chose to not be so truthful, because I am sure for many of them, this was a case of a career, something that is very uncommon in this county, and they would prevail as the "Good Guys." As was the case. No one will ever convince me that they law enforcement officers involved in this case would go to the effort of video taping my nephew and brother performing CPR, without their knowledge, but that they didn't go to the effort of video taping Josh's supposed confession. I believe with my entire being, that somewhere there is a video tape of this confession, that our "trustworthy" investigators chose not to use because it didn't give them what they needed for a conviction. Instead they would lead the jury to believe that out of the goodness of their hearts they didn't video tape this….this would make them look "good" in the eyes of the jury as well as allow them to use their own terminology and their own animation, in what was supposed to be a confession…..Think about that awhile!! There is no goodness of the heart in these law enforcements officers…Quite frankly, I don't sleep so well at night, knowing that people like these are looking out for my safety!!!
I would strongly encourage anyone who served on this jury to please, please speak now, and save this young man's life. There is no need to make this a double tragedy.
WE LOVE YOU JOSH!!!
Aunt Barb & Scott