A former middle school football coach has been sentenced to death for kidnapping, raping and murdering a 10-year-old girl who he snatched from the street.
Craig Owens, 49, was sentenced on Thursday, a month after being convicted of murdering Hailey Owens.
Hailey was walking home from school in Springfield, Missouri, in February 2014 when Wood, who worked at a different school, pulled over by the side of the road and beckoned her to his car.
Horrified residents watched as he opened his car door and snatched her then sped off before they could catch him.
Craig Wood, 49, was sentenced to death on Thursday for the 2014 murder of Hailey Owens. Wood is pictured in his mugshot
The next day, when police went to his home after tracing his registration plate, they found Hailey’s body wrapped in plastic and placed in a tub.
She has been shot in the back of the head.
During the trial, prosecutors told how Wood was an impulsive pedophile who kept handwritten stories of sexual fantasies which included children in his basement.
He was unanimously convicted last month but jurors could not decide whether to sentence him to death or life in prison without parole.
On Thursday, a circuit judge sentenced him to death.
Wood’s defense team tried to ask for a new trial and argued that the death penalty was unconstitutional.
Their only defense was that the crime was not premeditated.
Hailey Owens, 10, was walking home from school when she was snatched by Wood in the street. He beckoned her to his car to ask for directions then grabbed her when she was close enough
Hailey’s body was found wrapped in plastic and in a small, round contained in Wood’s basement in Springfield, Missouri, the day after she was found
Ten-year-old Hailey had been sexually assaulted and shot in the back of the head
Wood has not yet been given an execution date.
During his trial last month, jurors were shown photographs of Hailey’s bruised body.
They also heard from Carlos and Michelle Edwards, the residents who saw the kidnapping take place.
Carlos Edwards was raking leaves in his yard when he saw Wood snatch the girl. He sprinted after his car but could not catch up with them in time.
He then went door-to-door, telling neighbors about what he had seen and describing Hailey while his wife called 911.
When police searched Wood’s home, they noticed a strong smell of bleach in his basement near where Hailey’s body was found.
They also found his clothes at a laundromat near to his home.
Wood, pictured at trial last month, was convicted in November. His attorneys said he was an impulsive pedophile who had not planned the murder and was acting on suppressed sexual urges. He has not yet been given an execution date