Terry Underwood, the Wagner College football star convicted of murder in 2000, is serving a 60-year New Jersey prison sentence for the August 1998 stabbing death of his pregnant wife, Theresa Rodriguez Underwood, in the couple’s Aberdeen apartment. He has maintained his innocence for more than 25 years, arguing that the confession used to convict him was coerced during a 19-hour interrogation, and his federal habeas corpus petition remains procedurally open.
The Wagner College Career That Made Him Famous
Underwood grew up in Matawan, New Jersey, and played tailback at Wagner College on Staten Island from 1985 to 1988.1Wagner Athletics. Football Record Book At five-foot-eight and 193 pounds, he became one of the most prolific rushers in Division III history.2New York Daily News. Free-Falling Stars Glory Days Fade Fast
As a junior in 1987, he helped Wagner go 13-1 and win the NCAA Division III national championship, beating Dayton 19-3 in the Stagg Bowl on December 12, 1987, under head coach Walt Hameline.3Wagner Athletics. Wagner Football Record Book He was named NCAA Division III Player of the Year that season.2New York Daily News. Free-Falling Stars Glory Days Fade Fast
On October 15, 1988, he set a Wagner and ECAC single-game record with 363 rushing yards on 39 carries and three touchdowns in a 30-24 win over Hofstra.4New York Times. Wagner’s Best Wants More He finished his career with 5,010 rushing yards, 330 points scored, and a single-season record of 1,809 rushing yards.3Wagner Athletics. Wagner Football Record Book A 1988 New York Times profile called him “perhaps the best Division III football player in the country.” His career rushing record at Wagner stood until 1999. He graduated in 1989 with a degree in criminal justice.
What Happened to Theresa Underwood
Terry and Theresa had been high school sweethearts at Matawan High School.5New York Times. Prosecutors Say Ex-Star at Wagner Killed Wife By 1998 they had been married six years and had two young children, a five-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl. Theresa, a Bible teacher, was six months pregnant.6New York Daily News. Slain Mom’s Parents Asking for Prayers
On August 24, 1998, she was found dead in the couple’s Aberdeen apartment. She had been stabbed 88 times and had suffered massive sharp-force and blunt injuries.7New York Daily News. 10 Years Later Terry Underwood Still Looking for Daylight The unborn child died from intrauterine asphyxia.8Midpage. State of New Jersey vs. Terry A. Underwood The couple’s two children were asleep in an adjacent room. No murder weapon and no blood-stained clothing were recovered at the scene.9New York Times. Former Athlete Is Held in Death of His Wife
Prosecutors said the killing followed a fight over financial problems and Underwood’s alleged extramarital affair.9New York Times. Former Athlete Is Held in Death of His Wife He was arrested and held on $350,000 bail.6New York Daily News. Slain Mom’s Parents Asking for Prayers
The Confession and the Trial
The state’s case turned almost entirely on a statement Underwood made at Aberdeen police headquarters on August 25, 1998. Seven officers, including Detective Michael Campbell of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, questioned him. At 8:55 p.m., according to trial testimony, he said: “I did it. I just snapped. I started beating her. I don’t know what I hit her with.”7New York Daily News. 10 Years Later Terry Underwood Still Looking for Daylight Prosecutors also told jurors he had failed a polygraph.
His defense argued the confession was coerced. It came after 19 hours of interrogation, roughly 37 hours without sleep, and 26 hours without food or drink, with no lawyer present and no video recording. Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Theodore J. Labrecque Jr. suppressed statements made before noon that day, but he allowed the later admissions in, ruling they were “not the result of an overbearing of his will.”7New York Daily News. 10 Years Later Terry Underwood Still Looking for Daylight
On March 20, 2000, a jury convicted him of first-degree murder. On April 28, 2000, Judge Labrecque sentenced him to 60 years in New Jersey State Prison, calling the murder “especially heinous, cruel and depraved” and saying the victim “was slaughtered.”7New York Daily News. 10 Years Later Terry Underwood Still Looking for Daylight Theresa’s father, William Rodriguez Sr., told the court Underwood was “a coward and a cold-blooded killer.”
The Physical Evidence Was Thin
Outside the confession, forensic evidence linking Underwood to the killing was limited. Investigators found blood only in the bedroom, a small amount of the victim’s blood on a sock, and one latent fingerprint that matched no known person. There was no murder weapon.8Midpage. State of New Jersey vs. Terry A. Underwood Prosecutor Alton D. Kenney leaned on circumstantial reasoning, arguing that Underwood’s failure to search the apartment when he found his wife showed he already knew no intruder was there: “Why doesn’t he think, ‘there must be some horrible killer hiding in my house?’ Because he’s the horrible killer.”7New York Daily News. 10 Years Later Terry Underwood Still Looking for Daylight
Underwood has said he was at his friend Joe Wright’s home when Theresa was killed.
Appeals, DNA, and the Federal Petition
Underwood’s sentence was partially modified on direct appeal, though the specifics are not fully spelled out in the available court records.8Midpage. State of New Jersey vs. Terry A. Underwood He then filed for state post-conviction relief, raising several ineffective-assistance claims against his trial lawyer, including the decision not to seek DNA testing of Theresa’s fingernail clippings, the failure to call a sleep-deprivation expert, the retention of a juror related to the prosecutor, and the withdrawal of a passion/provocation manslaughter instruction. The New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division rejected each claim and affirmed the denial on July 13, 2017.10New Jersey Courts. State of New Jersey vs. Terry A. Underwood The New Jersey Supreme Court denied certification on July 6, 2018.11PACER Monitor. Underwood v. Nogan et al.
DNA testing has cut in more than one direction. Testing of Theresa’s fingernail clippings produced nine samples matching the victim herself. One mixed sample excluded Terry Underwood but could not exclude the fetus or other unknown contributors.8Midpage. State of New Jersey vs. Terry A. Underwood By 2007, Underwood and his public defender, Al Glimis, were preparing a motion for further analysis, and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office said it would not object.7New York Daily News. 10 Years Later Terry Underwood Still Looking for Daylight
After exhausting state remedies, Underwood filed a federal habeas corpus petition in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in 2018. The case, Underwood v. Nogan (Civ. No. 18-14900), was assigned to Chief District Judge Freda L. Wolfson, who let it proceed past initial screening in January 2019.12GovInfo. Underwood v. Nogan, Memorandum and Order In November 2022, the court identified it as a “mixed petition” of exhausted and unexhausted claims. One unexhausted claim alleged that trial counsel prevented Underwood from testifying about a third-party guilt theory involving a woman named Chantel Fenter, whom he described as his girlfriend at the time and who, he said, had been stalking his wife and had access to the apartment.13GovInfo. Underwood v. Nogan, Order on Mixed Petition The court ordered him to file an amended petition and return to state court to exhaust the outstanding claims. The case was administratively terminated for docket management, with jurisdiction retained.
Where the Case Stands
Underwood is held at New Jersey State Prison in Trenton under Department of Corrections number 000936298B.7New York Daily News. 10 Years Later Terry Underwood Still Looking for Daylight He has spent more than 25 years in prison and still says the confession that put him there was the product of an interrogation he could no longer withstand. His federal habeas petition remains procedurally open, waiting on an amended filing and on the state courts to finish with his remaining claims.