Father's Murder Conviction Shattered Daughter's Faith

A single offhand comment during a collect call in February 2011 broke the unshakable bond between Laurel Woods and her father, Michael Woods. For twenty years, Woods had defended the former California Highway Patrol officer, even after he was convicted in 2001 of first-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life. The conviction stemmed from the 1989 killing of his business partner, Horace "Big Mac" McKenna, who was shot twenty times with an Uzi machine gun outside his Brea mansion. Woods, who was then working at a tech company in San Francisco, described the news of his father's arrest as an out-of-body experience that triggered a fight-or-flight response.

Michael Woods, born in Jersey City in 1932, had sold his strip clubs, including Bare Elegance and the Jet Strip, in an attempt to keep cash flows off the books to hide McKenna's counterfeiting record. Investigators argued that Woods paid bodyguard David Amos $50,000 to arrange the hit. Amos later paid John Patrick Sheridan $25,000 to fire the weapon. Sheridan’s eventual confession led to Amos wearing a wire during a lunch meeting with Woods at Jerry’s Deli in Woodland Hills, resulting in the arrest that sealed the case.

While her father awaited trial in Orange County, Woods returned to Southern California to manage the three nude clubs. She recalled the shock of transitioning from a job at Industrial Light & Magic to running the businesses, a role she took on for two years until the conviction. Her childhood memories of her father remain mixed; she recalls him building a swing set and buying a used boat for a backyard fort, yet she also remembers the secrecy surrounding his work. At age nine, she toured the Jet Strip with her sister, seeing the neon signs and disco floor, though her father had ordered them not to look at the video monitors in the back office.

Woods wrote her memoir, "Strip Club Heiress: The Jet Strip, My Father’s Conviction, and the Murder of Mac McKenna," after starting a blog that caught the attention of KCRW-FM. The book explores the emotional toll of the case, including the period when her parents went underground for months to avoid the killer. Woods says she stayed loyal to her father because he prided himself on being in law enforcement and protective of the family. She notes that he always had a reason for everything when questioned, which allowed her to wall off the lingering doubts.

The turning point came when Woods played a radio spot for her father on a collect call from California inmate T-47887. She wanted acknowledgment that he was sorry for the hardship he had caused the family. Instead, his focus remained on his own quest for release. Woods recalls his specific correction regarding his past job title, which she found baffling given the context of their conversation. This moment revealed that he prioritized his narrative over their shared pain, shattering her faith in his innocence and his understanding of their sacrifices.

The memoir details the specific dynamics of their relationship, from the initial shock of the murder to the final realization that her father’s self-focus remained unchanged. Woods describes the physical reality of the prison visits and the financial and emotional strain on the family. The book serves as a record of her journey from a child who idolized her father to a woman who had to navigate the aftermath of his conviction. The narrative focuses on the specific details of the crime, the trial, and the personal cost of loyalty.