Student convicted of murder for mowing down fiancé, dragging him 500 feet with car
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A United Kingdom student has been convicted of murder for dragging her fiancé under her car during an argument that witnesses say escalated to a twisted game of “chicken.”
Alice Wood, 23, was found guilty of murder Tuesday in the death of 24-year-old Ryan Watson following a three-week trial at Chester Crown Court in Cheshire, United Kingdom.
According to authorities, Wood struck Watson with her Ford Fiesta, dragging him over 500 feet underneath the car after he “clicked” with another woman at a party on May 6, 2022.
Witnesses described the altercation as a game of “chicken,” in which a furious Wood continually struck Watson, dragging his body for 158 meters before stopping to ask for help.
The university student eventually stopped to ask someone to “Please phone an ambulance, I think I’ve run over my boyfriend.”
While Wood claimed her partner’s death had been a “tragic accident,” surveillance footage shows her getting into her car, revving the engine, and reversing toward Watson several times before ultimately striking him.
“Footage showed Ryan walking away from the collision but Wood deliberately drove at him a third time, hitting him and causing him to go under the car,” police said in a release.
She then drove over 500 feet with his body wedged underneath her car.
Both Wood and Watson had been drinking alcohol before the argument and Wood later failed a roadside breath test, police said.
Paramedics pronounced Watson dead at the scene. Upon her arrest, Wood told officers, “It’s fine, I deserve it.”
In a police statement, Watson’s grieving family expressed gratitude that justice had been served and said they were “proud” of all he’d accomplished in his 24 years of life.
“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,” they said.
“The one person Ryan trusted the most is the person who took his life in such a violent way.”
Woods is set to be sentenced on Jan. 29.
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