‘Bee lady’ due back in Springfield months after fleeing region on trial day

SPRINGFIELD — A Hampshire County woman who left the area before facing trial for unleashing a swarm of bees on police in 2022 is headed back.

Rebecca “Rorie” Woods took off Aug. 5, the day her trial on assault charges was set to begin in Springfield District Court. She was accused of releasing the bees as Hampden County Sheriff’s deputies were in the midst of an eviction at a $1.5 million home in Longmeadow.

She was located two days later in Tennessee and has been jailed in that state as she fought extradition.

After governors in Massachusetts and Tennessee signed a warrant for her return, Woods is expected to appear in a Springfield courtroom Monday, according to a spokesperson for Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni.

Woods is expected to land at Bradley Airport over the weekend, law enforcement officials say.

She will not be housed at the Western Massachusetts Women’s Correctional Facility in Chicopee.

“She’ll be going directly to Franklin County, since we’re a party to her criminal case,” said Robert Rizzuto, spokesperson for Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi.

Hampden County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Joslyn attempts to wrestle a tower of beehives away from protester Rorie Woods as deputies attempted to serve an eviction notice at 49 Memery Lane in Longmeadow on Oct. 12, 2022.

Woods allegedly let loose hundreds of bees on about a half-dozen deputies to deter them from going forward with the eviction. Most were stung, including one employee who had to be taken away in an ambulance.

Woods appeared to have no remorse that day.

“Oh, you’re allergic? Good,” she told one official, according to court records.

Rebecca “Rorie” Woods, of Hadley, at a July 9 pretrial hearing in Springfield District Court. She faces multiple assault charges for allegedly unleashing a swarm of bees onto Hampden County Sheriff’s Department deputies attempting to serve an eviction notice in Longmeadow in 2022. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook

Once her case got to court, Woods was a active defendant, filing motion after motion and firing attorney after attorney. She decided to represent herself.

Prosecutors waited for Woods to show up for the start of trial. When she didn’t, a judge issued an arrest warrant.

On Aug. 7, authorities apprehended her at a motel in Tennessee.

It is unclear what new charges she may face when she arrives in Western Massachusetts.

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