Murder of Hailey Owens

Hailey Marie Owens, a 10-year-old fourth grader at Westport Elementary School in Springfield, Missouri, was abducted on the evening of February 18, 2014, while walking home from a friend's house. According to a search warrant application described in reporting, a man driving a gold Ford Ranger pulled over, called to her, and asked for directions before grabbing her and driving off. Neighbors Michelle and Carlos Edwards witnessed the abduction; Michelle wrote down the license plate number while Carlos and another neighbor, Ricky Riggins, attempted to pursue the truck, though it eluded them. Carlos then went door to door seeking the girl's family, eventually connecting with a boy who recognized the description and led him to speak with his mother. The license plate led police to Jim and Regina Wood, who identified their son, Craig Wood, as the vehicle's primary driver.

Hailey's body was later found in the basement of Craig Michael Wood's Springfield home, inside two garbage bags placed within plastic storage containers. She had been raped and shot in the back of the head, and marks on her wrists indicated she had been tied up at some point. Investigators also obtained video footage showing Wood disposing of Hailey's clothing in a dumpster and separately purchasing bleach and Liquid Plumber on two occasions.

Wood, born March 25, 1968, had worked in Springfield schools for 16 years, including as a football coach, suspension supervisor, teacher's aide, and substitute teacher at Pleasant View Middle School. A search of his home turned up more than a dozen firearms, child pornography, handwritten sexual-fantasy stories involving 13-year-old girls, and photographs of young female students from the school where he had worked. Wood had prior convictions: a 1990 guilty plea for possession of a controlled substance and a 2001 misdemeanor conviction for stealing wildlife.

Wood's trial began October 30, 2017. Prosecutors sought the death penalty despite the wishes of Hailey's family, who had supported a plea deal for life without parole. The defense conceded Wood committed the crimes but argued they were not premeditated. On November 2, 2017, a jury convicted Wood of first-degree murder but could not unanimously agree on a death sentence, leaving sentencing to the judge. On January 11, 2018, Judge Thomas Mountjoy sentenced Wood to death by lethal injection. Hailey's mother, Stacy Herman, who had opposed the state's pursuit of the death penalty, later said after the trial that Wood "got what he deserved."

The case drew national attention. Thousands attended a candlelight vigil on February 23, 2014, and a local park, Hailey's Playground, was later dedicated to her. Her family, joined by Wood's family, advocated for changes to Missouri's Amber Alert system, resulting in the 2019 passage of "Hailey's Law," which allows police to issue alerts more quickly and include a URL with each alert; the law took effect August 28, 2019.