Death penalty or life in prison? Hung jury in Missouri rape, murder of Hailey Owens, 10

A judge will decide whether Craig Wood, convicted of first-degree murder in the killing of 10-year-old Hailey Owens in the Ozarks, will be put to death.

A hung jury transfers the decision to the judge, the Springfield News-Leader reports.

The jury deliberated for more than four hours before announcing it was unable to come to a unanimous decision.

The penalty for first-degree murder in Missouri is life in prison or capital punishment.

Prosecutors argued in favor of the death penalty for the kidnap, rape and murder of Owens in 2014.

“This is it,” said Greene County Prosecutor Dan Patterson. “This is the case. This is the case that calls for strict enforcement of the law and the ultimate penalty, the death penalty.”

Wood’s defense attorney, Patrick Berrigan, called for mercy.

The jury deliberated following protests of the death penalty outside the Greene County courthouse, the News-Leader reported. Last week, a protester said the death penalty perpetuates the cycle of violence.

Hailey’s mother, Stacey Herman, called for Patterson to accept a plea deal that Wood had agreed to, which would have sentenced him to life in prison and would have precluded the need for a trial.

Patterson did not accept the deal, the News-Leader reported.

During the trial, Wood’s attorney conceded that his client kidnapped and killed Hailey but said he acted impulsively when he grabbed the girl in broad daylight.

Hailey was walking along a Springfield street when Wood, 49, pulled her into his truck as witnesses looked on. Some witnesses ran on foot after him, and one even got into a vehicle to chase the truck but lost it.

Prosecutors said Wood raped Hailey before taking her to his basement and shooting her. Her body was later found in a plastic tub in the basement.

Wood was a paraprofessional at Pleasant View Middle School. He was a football coach and supervised students in the in-school suspension room.

As news of Hailey’s slaying spread in her community, residents were shocked by the heinous crime.

“People can’t believe this would happen. It’s just the fact that she wasn’t far from her home, then instantly, poof, she’s gone,” Springfield resident Joe Bridges told The Star in February 2014.

Wood had apparently never married and had no children. He rarely socialized with neighbors.

Missouri court records indicated Wood pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance in 1990. He was also convicted in 2001 for the illegal taking of wildlife.

Wood’s father, Jim Wood of Ash Grove, Mo., told The Star in 2014 that he spoke with his son the night he was arrested but would not give details about their conversation.

“I can tell you it is just a tragedy,” Jim Wood said. “We’re stunned, for everybody who knows him.”

Hailey’s father, Markus Owens, told a Springfield television station shortly after the crime, “All I can say right now is I miss her and I love her.”

This story was originally published November 7, 2017 at 9:44 AM with the headline "Death penalty or life in prison? Hung jury in Missouri rape, murder of Hailey Owens, 10."