I have a passion for digging into stories and following them all the way through, sometimes for years. While at ABC7, I've covered the kidnapping of Denise Huskins that Vallejo police mistakenly called a hoax. I broke several stories around the case including the lead detective being named Officer of the Year. In Vallejo, I also extensively covered the police shooting of Sean Monterrosa by an officer who fired from the backseat through the windshield of an unmarked police vehicle. I exposed that the Vallejo Police Department waited 38.5 hours to announce Monterrosa's death, even though he was pronounced dead one hour after the shooting.
More recently, I've investigated the Fire Victim Trust, which was created to pay PG&E victims of the 2015 Butte Fire, 2017 North Bay Wildfires and deadliest 2018 Camp Fire. At the time the report aired, the Trust had spent more than $51 million, including hefty salaries for those in charge of the Trust while only 334 fire victims, less than half of 1% of fire victims had received a 30% partial payment of their total claim.
Prior to joining ABC7 News, I worked as an investigative reporter for KTVU. I moved to the Bay Area from Los Angeles where I was an investigative reporter and producer for the nationally syndicated daytime medical talk show "The Doctors." I've also worked at CBS Newspath in Los Angeles. Before making the move west, I was a reporter/weekend anchor at Wavy News 10 in Norfolk, Virginia and a morning anchor/reporter at WHAG in Hagerstown, MD. I got my start in the business as a production assistant at MSNBC. Previously I worked at an investment bank in NYC. Sept. 11, 2001 was my first day of work at the bank. Shortly thereafter I realized I wanted to be a reporter and after finishing a 2-year analyst program at the bank I made the career switch. I graduated from Cornell University where I was Valedictorian of Cornell's College of Human Ecology.
When I'm not reporting, you can usually find me practicing or teaching yoga. I'm thrilled to be a member of the ABC7 News I-Team. My best story tips come from you! You can reach me on Facebook, Twitter or over email at melanie.woodrow@abc.com.
Melanie's Stories
New surveillance images released from night of Bay Area tech exec Bob Lee's stabbing death
As the accused killer Nima Momeni awaits his upcoming preliminary hearing in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee, ABC7 News has obtained new surveillance images documenting the final moments the two were together the night of Lee's death.
SF mayor's Q&A on drug crisis from UN Plaza cut short after pushback from public
Police say during the session a person threw a brick at people, nearly striking a juvenile. Someone who spoke to ABC7 News reporter Melanie Woodrow said that the person was initially tackled by someone in the crowd and officers arrested them.
Suspect in fatal stabbing of CashApp founder Bob Lee pleads not guilty, held without bail
The suspect in the stabbing death of CashApp founder Bob Lee appeared in court Thursday. Thirty-eight-year-old Nima Momeni pleaded not guilty to murder charges.
Banko Brown death: San Francisco mayor, police chief support DA's decision in Walgreens shooting
Mayor Breed says she saw this video of Brown's shooting for the first time Monday. "It's a real tragedy but at the end of the day, I think that the district attorney did everything she could to look at the evidence and make a decision based on what the evidence demonstrated," she said.
Surveillance video shows what led up to deadly SF Walgreens shooting; DA won't file charges
As part of the announcement, the DA's office publicly released a comprehensive report including witness statements, a police interview with the security guard, redacted police report and surveillance video.
New calls for federal oversight on Vallejo PD following deadly shootings
This is as the deadline for the department to implement dozens of recommendations for changes following a number of deadly police shootings is less than a month away.
FBI, police take 'evidence bags' from NASA scientist's Redwood City home in cold case investigation
Police say the search is about Ylva Hagner, a 42-year-old woman who went missing in October of 1996. They were seen putting nearly a dozen evidence bags into the back of a patrol car.
There's nearly a decade-long wait for public housing in Oakland, per housing authority
An ABC-Owned Television Stations analysis of data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development found that households that received assistance last year had waited about two years -- and significantly more in other cases.
Bob Lee murder suspect arraignment postponed again as autopsy report released by medical examiner
The Cash App founder had alcohol, cocaine and ketamine in his system when he died, the San Francisco Medical Examiner report reveals. The suspect was due in court on Tuesday, but the arraignment has been postponed.
Residents in Oakland Hills neighborhood 'take exception' to PG&E not undergrounding powerlines
With wildfire worries on their minds, residents in the Montclair neighborhood are "struggling to understand PG&E's logic" behind leaving them off of a 10,000-mile underground powerlines program.