Brentwood Couple Slain in ‘Execution’

A Brentwood couple returning home from a Yom Kippur dinner were gunned down in their Mercedes Benz in the garage of their Gorham Drive condominium late Wednesday night, and police pressed their search today for two men in black martial-arts style clothing seen running from the scene.

Neighbors in the 27-unit complex said circumstances led them to believe that Gerald Abraham Woodman, 67, and his wife, Vera, 63, were “executed” about 10:30 p.m. by a pair of gunmen lying in wait in the subterranean garage of the complex on Gorham Drive, a block from the Brentwood Country Club.

Ambush Possible

Los Angeles police Lt. Ed Henderson of the major crimes unit declined to characterize the slayings as “execution-style,” but he said it was possible that the gunmen may have been waiting for the Woodmans. One neighbor said she heard a burst of three shots and then one or two shots. Another neighbor reported hearing six shots.

The motive was unclear. There was no evidence of robbery, “but we don’t know what was in the car,” Henderson said.

Neighbors and friends said the Woodmans, who were retired, had moved into the complex about six months ago. They had previously lived in an apartment in the 2200 block of Roscomare Road in Sherman Oaks, and before that had lived in a $1-million home in the 2700 block of Casiano Road in Bel-Air.

Owned Plastics Firm

Neighbors said Woodman had owned a plastics manufacturing firm in the San Fernando Valley. He was described as a jocular, charming man who spoke with an English or Scottish accent.

His wife was dead at the scene. Woodman died a short time later at the UCLA Medical Center.

Detectives searched the garage, the car and the Woodmans’ apartment. A chain locking a service gate to the garage had been cut.

Shortly after what witnesses called “very loud” shots were fired, the two persons in martial-arts style dress were seen running through an alley. One neighbor briefly chased them.

Friends said the Woodmans were returning from a Yom Kippur supper at the home of a daughter. The Woodmans were said to have four or five children.