A theology and ethics student has been found guilty of murdering her fiancé by deliberately mowing him down in her car after they rowed when she accused him of flirting with another woman at a party.
Alice Wood, 23, used her Ford Fiesta as a weapon when she ploughed into Ryan Watson near the couple’s home in Cheshire in May last year.
Mr Watson, 24, was dragged more than 500ft underneath the car and died as a result of his injuries.
Earlier that evening, the couple had attended a birthday party for a colleague of Mr Watson, who was a charity worker, where they rowed when he was spotted dancing and chatting to other women.
After leaving the event, the argument continued and Wood – who was almost twice over the legal drink drive limit – lost her temper and launched an attack on him, using her car as a weapon.
Wood, who was in the final year of her theology, philosophy and ethics degree course and had a scholarship for a part-time research master’s at Cambridge, had claimed Mr Watson’s death was a tragic accident, but the jury convicted her of murder following a three-week trial at Chester Crown Court.
On the first day of the trial, she had a copy of the book Meditations, a philosophy text by the Roman Marcus Aurelius, under her arm as she was led in handcuffs from the prison van to the court.
Jurors were told that on the night in question there had been friction between the couple after Mr Watson “clicked” with a female guest at the party.
Other attendees described how he had been enjoying himself, while Wood was a “bit cold” and staring at him.
After they returned from the party in Mr Watson’s car, Wood got in her Fiesta and witnesses described her playing “a game of chicken” with Mr Watson by driving the car forwards and backwards at him.
CCTV video played to the jury showed Wood’s Fiesta swerving onto the pavement and hitting Mr Watson, sending him flying on to the bonnet.
He managed to get to his feet but seconds later he was struck a second time, causing him to fall under the car’s front bumper.
Mr Watson was heard screaming in the footage as he became trapped under the Fiesta’s chassis, with Wood driving for 518ft (158 metres) before coming to a stop down the road.
Following the collision, a “hysterical” Wood knocked on a neighbour’s door and told her: “Please telephone an ambulance, I think I have run over my boyfriend.”
When they went over to the Fiesta, where there was a pool of blood on the road and Mr Watson’s legs were sticking out from underneath the vehicle, Wood said: “Look what I’ve done.”
Wood also told police and paramedics that she had run over Mr Watson, who died from crush asphyxiation injuries, but said he had “jumped in front” of her car.
Giving evidence, she claimed Mr Watson had “flipped” after accusing her of “flirting” with other men at the party.
She told the jury he’d called her a “slag” and a “whore” and said she had embarrassed him in front of other party guests.
Wood claimed she had wanted to get away from Mr Watson and stay at her mother’s house that night to help defuse the row but could not find her phone to arrange a lift from her father and Mr Watson had refused to lend her his mobile.
She claimed Mr Watson had also threatened to have her mother killed and she had only driven towards him initially to “scare” and “intimidate” him.
Wood denied deliberately and intentionally driving at him and wanting to cause him harm and said seeing him under the car had been like “stepping into a nightmare”.
But Andrew Ford KC, prosecuting, said Wood had killed Mr Watson by “deliberately running him down” and it was not a tragic accident as she claimed.
He said Wood had “lost her cool” while arguing with him and “used her car as a weapon”.
Mr Ford suggested she had decided to turn events around to claim Mr Watson had accused her of flirting, and that was the reason for them rowing, when the “truth” was the “other way round” and she had become unhappy with his behaviour at the party.
‘Whole life ahead of him’
David Jones, senior crown prosecutor in CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: “This was a tragic loss of life of a young man with his whole life ahead of him.
“Under the influence of alcohol, it was clear that Alice Wood’s jealousy was ammunition enough for her to brutally kill her partner.
“Though it will never make up for their devastating loss, I hope today’s conviction brings Ryan’s family some solace, knowing his murderer has been brought to justice.”
Det Insp Nigel Parr from Cheshire police said: “While no conviction is going to bring Ryan back, I hope it will bring some sense of closure for his family, knowing that justice has been served.
“The night Ryan died, Wood used her vehicle as a weapon, while under the influence of alcohol, deliberately driving at him and even continuing to drive after knocking him down.
“She knew what she had done, but since then has refused to take accountability for her actions.
“Thankfully, as a result of our investigation and the evidence against her, she has been found guilty of Ryan’s murder.
“Our thoughts remain with Ryan’s family and friends as they continue to deal with the devastating events that took place.”
‘Heartbroken’
In a statement issued after the verdict, Ryan’s family said: “Ryan’s death has left our family heartbroken. He was taken from us far too soon, he was just a young man, 24 years old, with his whole life ahead of him.
“He had just started his career working for the charity Headway and helping other people, which is what he loved to do.
“Ryan had such a big personality; he was a bubbly, fun-loving, caring person with a heart of his gold who would do anything for anyone.”
The statement added: “He will be forever missed. All his family and friends are heartbroken to know we never get to see him again. Words cannot express how devastated and lost we are without Ryan. He touched the hearts and enriched the lives of everyone who knew him. We only had 24 years together, but we are proud to say he was our son and a fantastic big brother.
“We are grateful today we got justice for Ryan. It’s been so hard to watch the CCTV footage of our son getting hit by her car over and over again, then dragged up the road still being trapped under her car.
“I can’t imagine how scared Ryan must have been at that moment. The one person Ryan trusted the most is the person who took his life in such a violent way. I am living in a nightmare knowing my son’s last moments were so brutal.
“Alice is in prison where she belongs. But no sentence is going to be long enough for what she has taken from us and Ryan, he’ll never get to live his life and fulfill his dreams.”
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