Deke Woods

Officer Timothy Deacon "Deke" Woods was a fictional character on the ABC soap opera General Hospital. He was married to Sonny Corinthos' mother Adela and, although he was only showed in flashbacks, he is one of the most influential characters in Sonny's life.

Background
Deke Woods married Adela Corinthos when her son Sonny was about seven years old. To outsiders, he appeared to be a nice guy and was a well-respected police officer. Behind closed doors, however, he continuously beat and verbally and emotionally abused both Adela and Sonny. He often locked Sonny in a closet, causing him to become claustrophobic. Sonny now distrusts police officers, since Deke, a so-called "good guy," was two-faced, a cop on the outside, and a raging wife and child beater on the inside.

Deke met Marcus Taggert when Marcus was a child. Marcus was a troubled kid and Deke was someone he could look up to. Deke was good to Marcus, and made him want to become a cop just like him. Marcus did become a cop, and Deke's partner as a rookie. Then, one day Deke was killed in a mob hit ordered by Joe Scully, the guy who had taken in Sonny after he left home. Marcus blamed Sonny for killing his mentor and partner, and vowed to get revenge.

Deke's abuse toward Adela eventually led her to an early death. His abuse towards Sonny and Adela continues to cause Sonny great grief. Deke was a great influence in making Sonny the man he is today, claustrophobic, manic, verbally abusive, and distrustful of cops.