
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A defense attorney doesn’t dispute that a middle-school football coach abducted a 10-year-old Missouri girl in broad daylight in front of witnesses, then raped and killed her.
At issue is whether teacher’s aide Craig Wood deliberated before snatching Hailey Owens, as prosecutors argued Monday during opening statements, or whether it was impulsive, as the defense argues. The Springfield News-Leader reports that Wood’s attorney, Patrick Berrigan, blamed long-suppressed urges and methamphetamine. Charges against Wood include first-degree murder.
Neighbors unsuccessfully attempted to rescue Hailey in February 2014, chasing after the suspect and recording his license plate. The prosecution described Wood going to a store to buy bleach and going to a laundromat to clean his clothes. Hailey’s body was found in Wood’s basement.
Prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty.
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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – The trial of a middle-school football coach and substitute teacher charged with kidnapping, raping and killing a 10-year-old girl is getting underway in Springfield, Missouri.
Craig Wood is charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, child kidnapping, rape and sodomy. Prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty. Opening statements are set for Monday.
Police say he snatched fourth-grader Hailey Owens from a neighborhood street in February 2014, less than two blocks from her home as she walked back from her best friend’s house. Several neighbors unsuccessfully attempted to rescue the child, chasing the suspect on foot and by car. The abduction prompted an Amber Alert in Kansas.
Her body was found inside two garbage bags inside a plastic storage tote in Wood’s basement. Besides coaching, Wood also was a substitute teacher and teacher’s aide.