"A middle-school football coach has been jailed on suspicion of first-degree murder in the abduction and death of a 10-year-old girl in southwest Missouri, police said Wednesday."
"Neighbors describe abduction of girl, 10, who was killed" by Alan Scher Zagier | Associated Press, February 21, 2014
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Neighbors watched in horror as a 10-year-old southwest Missouri girl was snatched off the street just blocks from her home.
Some had spotted a man in a gold Ford Ranger pickup truck driving down the road in Springfield several times before the driver took off with the girl, investigators said. The residents even called 911 to report the truck’s license number.
But the vehicle moved too quickly. And Hailey Owens was gone....
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"Thousands pay tribute to slain Mo. girl" Associated Press, February 24, 2014
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A southwest Missouri community turned out by the thousands over the weekend to pay homage to a 10-year-old girl whose life ended last week, police say, at the hands of a man who abducted her from her quiet Springfield neighborhood.
The family of Hailey Owens, a fourth-grader who was killed Tuesday a block from her home, attended a candlelight vigil in her memory Saturday night and led a procession down Springfield’s Commercial Street.
The local chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse walked with family members as thousands of others lined sidewalks along the route, raising flickering candles and chanting Hailey’s name.
“Tonight is about Hailey, not the crime,” said Angel Boeddeker, a Springfield resident who came to the event with yellow ribbons for participants to wear.
Springfield city spokeswoman Cora Scott estimated there were about 10,000 participants who brought their own candles and were given Boeddeker’s yellow ribbons. Many also wore pink and purple, which were Hailey’s favorite colors.
Hailey’s family members clung close together as they walked, with her mother, Stacey Barfield, sobbing throughout.
“I came because I saw the video of the mother on the news,” said Donna Rivers of Springfield. “It was really important to her. She really felt the support when we do things like this.”
Ann Etta and her husband, Richard —who are close friends with the Barfields — made a large banner with Hailey’s picture and walked with the family. The family is doing “as good as can be expected,” Ann Etta said.
Craig Michael Wood, who was a middle school football coach for 16 years, has been charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, and armed criminal action. According to court records, Hailey’s body was found in Wood’s basement, stuffed into trash bags and plastic containers. Prosecutors said she was shot in the back of the head. Wood has pleaded not guilty.
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Also see: Mo. man to plead guilty in sex trafficking case
Man admits he lured Medfield teen into working as escort
Buried in my Metro?
