Jealous student who murdered fiance by running him over after party jailed

Alice Wood, 24, 'lost her temper' and 'used her car as a weapon' after the pair fought
Alice Wood has been convicted of murdering her fiance Ryan Watson
PA Media
Kim Pilling2 February 2024
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A philosophy student who ran over her fiance after she “lost her temper” has been jailed for a minimum of 18 years.

Alice Wood, 24, claimed her partner Ryan Watson, 24, died in a “tragic accident” when he was hit by the Ford Fiesta she was driving near their home in Rode Heath, Cheshire, at about 11.30pm on May 6 2022.

But a jury at Chester Crown Court rejected her account last month and unanimously found her guilty of murder.

Sentencing her on Friday to life imprisonment, Judge Michael Leeming told the defendant: “Prison may be hard for you Alice Wood but you only have yourself to blame for the situation you now find yourself in.”

Alice Wood court case
Alice Wood's fiance Ryan Watson
PA

The three-week trial heard the couple had spent the evening at a party in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, with staff and service users of the brain injury charity Headway, where Mr Watson was a support worker.

Andrew Ford KC, prosecuting, said Mr Watson was seen on CCTV footage “having a good time, being a gregarious and outgoing party guest” while Wood was described by one woman attending as “a bit cold”.

Fellow party guest Tiffany Ferriday told the court she and Mr Watson had “clicked” and Wood was “pretty much left out” of conversation.

But Wood told the court that when she drove Mr Watson home from the party in his car, despite knowing she was over the drink-drive limit, he “flipped” and accused her of flirting with other men.

The student described an argument which continued when they returned to the house they owned in Oak Street.

She told the court she went out to her car to leave but Mr Watson followed.

During his opening address, Mr Ford said “she lost her temper” and “used the car as a weapon”.

The jury was told Mr Watson was trapped underneath the car as Wood drove 158 metres up Sandbach Road before stopping.

Alice Wood court case
CCTV footage showing Alice Wood hitting Ryan Watson in her Ford Fiesta
PA

Judge Leeming told Wood: “I am not sure to the criminal standard that you were in a bad mood at the party, but I am sure from the available evidence… that by the time you arrived back home the atmosphere between you had changed to a significant degree for the worse.”

CCTV footage showed Wood reversing her Fiesta aggressively in Mr Watson’s direction and then, on the defendant’s own admission, she deliberately drove at him.

Mr Watson was thrown on to the bonnet of the vehicle as the back of his head hit the windscreen before he slid off and landed on his feet.

The judge did not accept Wood’s explanation that she only intended to “scare” her fiance at that point.

He told her: “You accelerated towards him, giving him no chance to move away. Your intention was then to cause him some harm.”

Alice Wood court case
Police bodyworn camera footage showing Alice Wood during her arrest
PA

The fatal impact came when Wood drove at Mr Watson again as he fell under the chassis of her vehicle and was dragged for a period of 21 seconds, the court heard.

The judge said: “In the heat of the moment and having failed to injure him in the first strike, this time you made no mistake. I am sure that there was an intent to kill.”

He said he did not accept Wood – who was one-and-a-half times over the legal drink-drive limit – was provoked by Mr Watson or in fear of violence at his hands on the night.

Judge Leeming went on: “Ryan Watson was vulnerable. He was a pedestrian, he was holding his mobile phone, he was standing on the pavement, he had been drinking.

“There was nothing he could do to avoid the fatal act.

“To my mind you have shown no true remorse for Ryan’s murder.”

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