I am the father to two daughters now aged 20 and 17. I am constantly praying for God’s hedge of protection over them. And I know back in December 2003, my worst fear was for them when we retired here to South Florida and had to live relatively unprotected amongst the “civilian” population. Unfortunately, that fear came to fruition at the doorstep of the parents of Hailey Owens.
As reported by Fox News.com,A middle-school football coach was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder in the death of a 10-year-old girl who was snatched off a street just blocks from her southwest Missouri home as several residents watched in horror.
Craig Michael Wood who also faces kidnapping and armed criminal action charges is accused of kidnapping fourth-grader Hailey Owens in Springfield as she walked home from a friend’s house Tuesday evening. Patterson said the girl had been shot in the head. Wood was inside a truck parked outside his small, single-story home in Springfield when police arrested him Tuesday night. A probable cause statement released Wednesday said the 45-year-old Wood was holding a roll of duct tape in his hands when officers arrived, and that the girl’s body was found stuffed inside two garbage bags in a basement where the floor was still damp from bleach.
Witnesses told investigators that a man in a gold 2008 Ford Ranger pickup truck drove down the street several times before abducting Hailey. Resident Ricky Riggins told the Springfield News-Leader he chased the fleeing pickup in his car after a neighbor tried to pull the girl away. “I couldn’t keep up,” Riggins told the newspaper. “He was probably five to six cars ahead of me. … It was so fast.”
I want to commend the neighbors including Ricky Riggins for their efforts to save little Hailey. It renews my faith to know there are those will who protect our most vulnerable, our children. Thanks as well to the local police who quickly acted and apprehended this animal. Police say Wood has not talked to investigators since his arrest — beasts cannot talk.
As a father, I can tell you I would not want to wait more than a year for justice to be served to this monster. The evidence is indeed overwhelming and verified by several eye witnesses. If there was ever a case where a trial should be held immediately, I cannot think of one. A message has to be sent to those who would harm the least of us all.
And yes, I would support the death penalty — how interesting that liberal progressives often feel compassion for criminals and murderers but not for unborn children – but that’s a topic for another day.
To the dads out there, especially those who have daughters, please love them, honor them, and protect them from those who seek to harm them. If it were my daughter, and Woods is found guilty, then turn him over to me. I have zero tolerance to anyone who harms a child – whether sexual abuse or any other injury.
To Hailey’s parents, please accept my humble condolences and to Hailey, God has welcomed you into His arms where there is no pain, no suffering. I am so sorry that your life, so short, had to be taken in such a violent manner.
