Student Alice Wood, 23, is discovered responsible of murdering her fiancé

A pupil who ran over her fiancé along with her automotive earlier than dragging him alongside the highway after a row at a charity celebration was at present discovered responsible of homicide.

Alice Wood, 23, mowed down Ryan Watson in a ‘recreation of rooster’ having misplaced her mood after watching him ‘click on’ with one other lady on the occasion in Stoke.

Wood claimed the collision was a tragic accident however a jury at Chester Crown Court this morning convicted her of homicide.

CCTV footage beforehand performed to the court docket confirmed Wood’s Fiesta swerving into Mr Watson sending him flying onto the bonnet.

He managed to get to his toes however seconds later automotive was pushed in the direction of him a second time, inflicting him to fall underneath the entrance bumper. He grew to become trapped underneath the chassis as Wood drove for 170 yards earlier than coming to a cease down the highway.

Wood claimed she by no means noticed Mr Wood earlier than colliding with him the second time and prosecutor Mr Andrew Ford KC informed the jury that there was a disagreement between two collision specialists over her perceived response time (PRT).

One knowledgeable claimed Wood might have ‘took her eyes’ off Mr Wood and there might haven’t been sufficient time for her to react.

But the opposite knowledgeable mentioned Mr Watson was not an ‘sudden hazard’ as a result of Wood had pushed at him the primary time.

Wood claimed that her associate develop into indignant along with her after he accused her of ‘flirting’ with males on the celebration.

But Mr Ford mentioned the allegation of flirting being made by Mr Watson might have been ‘turned on its head’ by Wood.

Previously the jury heard how he had ‘clicked’ with a feminine celebration visitor, who had felt Wood ‘obtrusive’ at her.

Mr Watson had later tried to ring the lady simply minutes earlier than being struck by Wood’s automotive.

The court docket additionally heard how Wood informed police when she was arrested: ‘You ought to simply shoot me within the head.’ 

Pc Alistair Robinson, who was referred to as to the property in Rode Heath, Cheshire on May 6 final 12 months, mentioned Wood was sitting on a settee in the lounge of the home and was ‘sobbing’. 

He added: ‘I may odor alcohol. She appeared drunk.’

He mentioned she was arrested on suspicion of homicide by his colleague, then breathalysed and arrested on suspicion of drink driving.

Mr Robinson mentioned as they travelled to custody in a police van his colleague defined what would occur once they received to the police station.

Wood then replied: ‘That’s effective, I deserve it.’

His colleague then informed her everybody would take care of her and she or he replied ‘I do not deserve it’, Mr Robinson mentioned.

He mentioned Wood was compliant and once they received to the police station an extra breathalyser take a look at was carried out.

He informed the court docket: ‘On a few events she mentioned phrases to the impact of ‘it is best to simply shoot me within the head’ while she was crying.’

‘Very clever’ lady, 23, who had ‘promising future’ forward of her with place to review at Cambridge University now faces life in jail after intentionally working over her fiancé after celebration bust-up 

By Richard Marsden 

‘Very intelligent’ Alice Wood appeared destined to be a excessive achiever and was set to take a spot on a postgraduate diploma at Cambridge University, based on sources near her household.

They described her conviction for homicide as a ‘horrible waste’.

The 23-year-old was believed to have set her sights on a profession as a vet however now she faces a sentence of life imprisonment.

A supply near Wood’s household mentioned: ‘She was a really clever lady, very intelligent, and she or he had a promising future. It’s a horrible waste of a expertise however this stuff occur in life.

‘Everyone’s able to having a mood, individuals can simply snap. It’s only a tragedy to be sincere, it truly is, for her and (her boyfriend) Ryan Watson.’

Wood and Mr Watson had solely purchased their residence within the small Cheshire village of Rode Heath for £120,000 in October 2021 – seven months earlier than Mr Watson’s dying in May 2022.

Previously, the couple each grew up in close by Cheadle, a quiet city on the sting of the Staffordshire Moorlands, the place it’s understood they met.

Wood – who has two brothers – had lived alternatively along with her mom Deborah Sproston, a physician’s receptionist, and father Trevor Wood, a furnishings maker, who’re divorced.

Before she is known to have gone away to college for her undergraduate diploma, Wood had part-time jobs in a comfort retailer and as a waitress in a pub.

In current years, she had managed to go travelling, along with her Facebook account exhibiting an image of her posing with a small elephant in a jungle setting.

One native mentioned: ‘She was quiet and studious. When she was older, she and her mom would exit to do the pub quiz collectively.

‘She appeared like she was destined for a superb profession – for her to be accused of homicide is the very last thing you’d anticipate to occur.’

Mr Watson, who labored for mind damage help charity Headway, was described by one resident in Rode Heath as ‘kind-hearted and useful’.

One lady who lives within the village – and witnessed the aftermath of the ‘horrific’ killing after Wood got here knocking for assist – mentioned: ‘Our landlord knew Ryan and mentioned he was a stunning lad.

‘Everybody thought the world of him. He was kind-hearted and useful… a extremely pretty boy. That’s what’s so coronary heart breaking.’

But the lady, a store assistant, revealed that when Wood banged on her door in search of assistance on the night time of the homicide, she was already attempting to supply her justification for what occurred.

She recalled: ‘She informed us she was upset as a result of she wished to return to search out her cellular phone (and) he (Ryan) thought she was flirting with different males.

‘She by no means went again for her cellphone, so she did not have a cellphone on her.’

The resident mentioned she let Wood borrow her cellphone to attempt to ring her mom however, in her panicked state, ‘could not keep in mind her mum’s cellphone quantity’.

Describing Wood’s manner, the lady added: ‘(Wood) was fairly distressed, however she wasn’t crying..

‘She mentioned: ‘Please cellphone for an ambulance . I’ve run over my boyfriend.’ I assumed he can be mendacity by the aspect of the highway in ache, so I went out.

‘He was utterly beneath the car, however his head was seen, and his foot was protruding.

‘I attempted to see if he was nonetheless aware however there was no reply. It was fairly horrific.

‘We referred to as an ambulance, they usually have been right here in quarter-hour . I used to be on the cellphone to all of them that point.

‘I actually really feel for his household. We have two youngsters of our personal …I’ve been attempting to place it out of my thoughts.’

Another Rode Heath resident who went to assist on the scene, mentioned: ‘There have been drag marks close to the automotive. I’m nonetheless attempting to determine the way it occurred. I’ve by no means seen an incident like this.

‘The passenger door was open. The engine was cool. He was jammed underneath the automotive.

‘The lady did not need to see Ryan…the paramedics wished her to go exterior however she did not need to.

‘She was far and wide. She could not stroll. We needed to help her. She was traumatised however could not stroll whether or not she was drunk or sober.

‘The police arrived shortly after and arrested her.’