Murder of Hailey Owens

At about 5:00 p.m. on February 18, 2014, Hailey was walking home from a friend's house when a man in a truck pulled over, called to her and asked for directions. As she approached him, he grabbed her, threw her into his truck and sped away. Michelle and Carlos Edwards were talking in their garage when they saw the truck pull up and the driver grab Hailey. Michelle wrote down the license plate number and Carlos ran after the truck while another neighbor jumped in a vehicle and followed until the truck eluded him.

As Michelle called 911, Carlos knocked on doors trying to find the girl’s parents, the search warrant application said. He described the girl to a boy who said it sounded like his sister and took Carlos to his home to talk with his mother.

Hailey's body was found in Craig Michael Wood's home in Springfield. It was inside two garbage bags within plastic storage containers located in the basement of the house. She had been raped and shot in the back of the head.[4] There were marks on her wrists indicating that, at some point, she had been tied up.[5]

The suspect in the murder was Craig Michael Wood (born March 25, 1968).[6] He was 49 years old at the time of his conviction. Wood once worked in Springfield as a paraprofessional worker and worked for 16 years as a school football coach at Pleasant View Middle School.[5] He also worked there supervising suspensions and as a teacher's aide and substitute teacher.[7]

Police found over a dozen firearms in his home as well as child pornography.[7] While searching a bedroom dresser in Wood's home, they discovered stories about sexual fantasies. Two of these handwritten stories involved girls aged 13. Also found were four pictures of young, female students who attended the school where Wood had been employed.[8]

Wood had a criminal record. In 1990, he pleaded guilty and was fined $100 after being found in possession of a controlled substance. In 2001, he was convicted of the misdemeanor of taking wildlife illegally.[7]

Wood's friends report him as having never married or having children, and an amateur bluegrass musician.[7]

Wood's trial began October 30, 2017, and prosecutors intended to seek the death penalty, against the wishes of the victim's family.[9] The defense was that the crimes were committed by Wood, but were not premeditated.[10]

On November 2, 2017, the jury found Craig Wood guilty of first-degree murder.[11] The same jury could not agree on a unanimous verdict for the death penalty for Wood, leaving the judge to decide on the sentence.[12]

On January 11, 2018, Judge Thomas Mountjoy sentenced Craig Wood to death by lethal injection.[13] Despite opposing the state's decision to seek the death penalty rather than accepting Wood's plea deal for life without parole, Owens' mother, Stacy Herman, expressed support for Wood's death sentence after the trial, stating that Wood "got what he deserved".[14]

A candlelight vigil was organized a few days after Hailey Owens' abduction. Thousands of people marched in the city, ending at a footbridge decorated with purple lights, Hailey's favorite color.[5]

A neighborhood park named Hailey's Playground was dedicated to her.