Suspect in killing of Mo. girl could face death penalty

• 4%3A48 p.m. CT Tuesday%3A Police respond to reported abduction of 10-year-old girl
• 8%3A30 p.m.%3A Officers find suspect%3B a statewide Amber alert had been issued at 7%3A07 p.m.
• 1%3A28 a.m. Wednesday%3A Judge approves search warrant for suspect%27s home

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Hailey Owens tried to get away.

But witnesses saw a man now identified as Craig Michael Wood grab her and toss the 10-year-old into his vehicle "like a rag doll," authorities say.

Wood, 45, is accused of abducting Hailey from a Springfield street in daylight hours Tuesday, taking her to the basement of his home and shooting her in the back of her head. He works for Springfield Public Schools.

"He was on a mission to find a girl and it just so happened he found my girl," Erin Petersen said of her niece, a girl who loved to play in the dirt but also loved to dress up and wear sequins.

Hailey's wrists had been tied, according to the probable cause statement used to file charges.

Her body was stuffed in two garbage bags inside a plastic storage tote. And the basement of the house that Wood owned reeked of bleach, authorities say.

"My office is committed to seeking justice for Hailey," Greene County Prosecutor Dan Patterson said Wednesday as he outlined the charges and struggled to maintain his composure. He is the father of 8- and 11-year-old girls.

Wood is charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and child kidnapping. He could face the death penalty and will be arraigned Friday in 31st Circuit Court here via video link from jail.

Witnesses not only saw the 5 p.m. CT abduction, they noted the license number of the tan Ford Ranger that the suspect was driving, committed the driver's appearance to memory, tried running after the vehicle and chased it in another car.

They heard the suspect ask Hailey the location of "Springfield Street" to lure her closer to the pickup — close enough for the driver to lunge out, grab the girl with his left hand and throw her into the truck with ease, the probable cause statement said. Then he peeled out of the neighborhood at speeds approaching 60 mph.

The license plate allowed police to trace the vehicle to Jim Wood in Ash Grove, Mo., about 20 miles northwest of Springfield. He told officers that his son drove the pickup truck.

When detectives arrived at Craig Wood's home in Springfield at about 8:30 p.m., he drove up in a vehicle matching the description of the suspect's truck with the same license plate that witnesses had remembered, the statement said.

When Craig Wood stepped out of the truck, he had a roll of duct tape in his hands, which he threw in the bed of the truck, police say.

Craig Wood agreed to go to police headquarters for an interview. At first he told detectives he had gone straight home after work at Pleasant View Middle School, where he is employed as a paraprofessional and a coach, but he then said he drove around for a while.

He denied any contact with Hailey.

While he was with police, officers did what they termed a "safety sweep" of his home to see if anyone needed help, noting the strong smell of bleach coming from the basement and a wet floor. The charging documents do not say whether officers saw a body at that point.

Police then waited for a search warrant, issued about 1:30 a.m. CT Wednesday, and found Hailey's body around 2:15 a.m.

Springfield Public Schools hired Craig Wood in 1998 even though he had a criminal history. Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams called his record minor, including a 1990 guilty plea to possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, and later a misdemeanor charge related to illegal killing of wildlife, turkey, in 2001.

Until Craig Wood was suspended Wednesday pending the outcome of this case, he was a paraprofessional, or teaching assistant, overseeing in-school suspension at Pleasant View Elementary and Middle School. He also was a middle school football and basketball coach.

Through the years, he worked as a substitute teacher at numerous schools.

Missouri law requires school districts to conduct background checks on employees who interact with students. That rule applies to certified employees, such as teachers, and non-certified employees such as Craig Wood.

Until 2006, Craig Wood was listed as a temporary employee. Parker McKenna, the district's director of human resources, said that makes it nearly impossible to know if he worked consistently in the early years or had gaps in his employment.

"Much of his employment was related to coaching," McKenna said. At times, his employment was seasonal in nature.

It does not appear that Craig Wood knew Hailey, authorities say.

It wasn't clear Wednesday whether a background check had been conducted on Wood or whether such reviews were required of temp workers hired in the late 1990s. New job applicants must be fingerprinted and submit to a thorough review that searches local, state and national criminal databases including the FBI. The search also brings up any substantiated allegations of child abuse or neglect.

"Because we're an educational institution, it also provides us information that is open and closed," McKenna said. That means the district also has access to databases that may not be open to the public.

For parents, two aspects of this case are chilling: Hailey's abduction by a stranger — a person who knows the child is most often involved in an abduction — and the fact that the suspect works for the school system.

Hailey's mother, Stacey Owens, is very strong but still in denial about what happened, said Petersen, Hailey's aunt.

Springfield psychologist Jennifer Baker suggested using the tragedy to revisit the topic of "stranger danger" with children.

"Tell them, 'You don't have to be afraid of playing outside. What you need to be aware of is strangers, of going up to a vehicle you don't know,' " she said.

Stranger abduction "is very rare," Baker said. "It's horrible. It's hard for us to even comprehend. But we don't have to worry that the same man is out there driving around, because he is not."

Petersen said she still feels numb. She tried to imagine what Hailey — who collected rocks, climbed trees and loved to wear her aunt's shoes around the house — would want to see looking down from heaven.

"Hailey wouldn't want everyone to be sad. She could always tell when something was wrong," Petersen said. "Hailey would want everyone to be happy."

Contributing: Stephen Herzog, Jonathan Shorman Claudette Riley, Jackie Rehwald and Christine Temple, Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader.