Background: News footage of the home in Sanford, N.Y., where Alexis Skoczylas was found dead on Feb. 14 (WKBW). Inset: Lance Woods (Niagara County Sheriff's Office).
A New York man who serves his community as a police officer is accused of fatally shooting his wife, who had reportedly filed for divorce months earlier.
Lance Woods, 53, was arrested in the early morning hours of Sunday, hours after police said he gunned down his wife, 35-year-old Alexis Skoczylas, at their home in Sanford in upstate New York. The City of Buffalo Police Department confirmed that Woods was currently employed as an officer with the department and was off duty at the time of the alleged shooting.
The Lewiston Police Department said it responded to a call for a welfare check at the home on Saturday. Officers found Skoczylas inside and pronounced her dead at the scene.
Due to Woods' status as an active police officer, the New York State Attorney General's Office of Special Investigations (OSI) will investigate the fatal shooting. New York State Attorney General Letitia James said in a press release that Woods was arraigned on Saturday on one count of second-degree murder. He was ordered to remain in custody at the Niagara County Jail.
The Buffalo Police Internal Affairs Division also said it was "reviewing the timeline of events" and cooperating with OSI in its investigation.
Local ABC affiliate WKBW interviewed Lewiston Police Chief Michael Salada, who said that Woods was apprehended by police from the Amherst Police Department between 3 and 4 a.m. on Sunday and taken into custody. According to Salada, the couple's two children were in the home at the time of the alleged shooting, and both of the children are currently in the care of relatives.
WKBW reported that while Woods and Skoczylas were married at the time of her death, Skoczylas had filed for divorce in September 2025. Salada told WKBW that there were no domestic violence calls made to the home in the past.
According to WKBW, Woods had been working with the Buffalo police since 2008 and was promoted to detective in 2017. At some point, he served as a school resource officer.