Crime

Man ordered to trial in raping, killing of Hailey Owens in Springfield, Mo.

A southwest Missouri youth football coach has been ordered to stand trial on charges of kidnapping, raping and murdering a 10-year-old Springfield girl.

KYTV reports a Greene County judge issued the order Thursday following a preliminary hearing for 46-year-old Craig Michael Wood.

Wood is accused of raping and killing Hailey Owens on Feb. 18 after throwing her into his pickup truck while she walked along a street in her neighborhood. Witnesses at Thursday’s hearing included a woman who witnessed the abduction and called 911 with a description of the pickup truck and its plate number.

Law enforcement witnesses described going to Wood’s home and finding Hailey’s body wrapped in trash bags inside a storage bin.

Wood has pleaded not guilty. He remains jailed without bond pending his next court appearance June 30.

This story was originally published May 23, 2014 at 7:23 AM with the headline "Man ordered to trial in raping, killing of Hailey Owens in Springfield, Mo.."

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