Going West: True Crime - Hailey Owens // 483

Episode Date: March 7, 2025

In February of 2014, a Missouri girl was abducted off the street in her own neighborhood by a strange man in a truck. Three witnesses watched it happen and acted immediately, writing down the license plate number of the perpetrator, and even knocking on doors attempting to find the girl’s family. And because of their actions, police would soon be knocking on the door of the man responsible - where they would find horrific evidence linking him to the crime. This is the story of Hailey Owens.

What is going on true crime fans? I'm your host T and I'm your host Daphne and you're listening to going west Hello, everybody. Hope you're doing well today going west hello everybody hope you're doing well today today's case was recommended by Jace so thank you so much Jace for sending this one in yes absolutely thank you Jace for sending this in also this story I had heard about in the news when it happened but didn't really get to dive into the details but it is so devastating the amount of people that tried to stop this crime from happening and were not able to do so sadly.

Yeah, it's crazy when there are multiple witnesses to a crime as we're gonna get into and you just wonder how this happened and why this person chose to do this with so many people around. Like this story as a whole is truly such a close call. But without getting into too many details here in the beginning, let's just dive right into this tragic story. All right guys, this is episode 483 of Going West. So let's get into it. I'm gonna be the one to blame I'm gonna be the one to blame I'm gonna be the one to blame

I'm gonna be the one to blame I'm gonna be the one to blame I'm gonna be the one to blame I'm gonna be the one to blame Music In February of 2014, a Missouri girl was abducted off the street in her own neighborhood by a strange man in a truck. Three witnesses watched it happen and acted immediately, writing down the license plate number of the perpetrator and even knocking on doors attempting to find the girl's family. Because of their actions, police would soon be knocking on the door of the man responsible,

where they would find horrific evidence linking him to the crime. Haley Owens was born on August 18, 2003 in the city of Springfield, Missouri to parents Stacey and Marcus, though they did split up after her birth, and her mom married her stepfather Jeff Barfield, which gave her a sister and a brother named Alexa and JD. And then Hayley also had a brother on her dad's side named Marcus Jr. Hayley is remembered as spirited, bubbly, and kind. Her family says that she was just as likely to be painting her nails, watching princess movies and getting dressed up as she was to be on to be painting her nails, watching princess movies, and getting dressed up

as she was to be on an adventure outside, playing in the mud, and traversing a creek on her bike. Her mom, Stacey, proudly recalls how helpful Hailey was and that she loved to assist in tending to household duties as well as babysitting. A nurturing young soul, she loved taking care of children even when she was one herself. Lisa Campbell, a friend of the family who also worked

for Haley's grandfather, described her as, quote, a beautiful little girl who loved everything with a contagious giggle. If she started giggling, you were giggling right with her. And her aunt, Erin Peterson, added, quote, she was an absolute ray of sunshine in 2014. When today's story takes place, 10 year old Haley was attending

Westport Elementary School as a fourth grader. On Tuesday, February 18th of that year, again 2014, you know, we're in winter right now. Haley was walking home from a friend's house shortly before 5 p.m. when a lurking opportunist saw a chance to strike. A truck began following Haley along her route

on West Lombard Street on the west side of the city. And pulling up next to her and rolling down the window, the driver shouted at Haley, asking her a question that she initially ignored, you know, clearly knowing that talking to a stranger wasn't a good idea. She didn't know who this guy was, but he persisted. So Haley, likely not knowing what the hell to do, hesitantly approached the vehicle, asking what he wanted. According to onlookers, he asked her if she knew

where Springfield Street was, and when she said no and continued walking, he called her over again. And it seems before she even registered what was happening, the man leapt out of the truck and grabbed her, forcing her into the passenger side of the car and speeding off. Haley was abducted from in front of 3247 West Lombard Street, her into the passenger side of the car and speeding off.

Hayley was abducted from in front of 3247 West Lombard Street, which is in a suburban area with trees along the sidewalks, and she was pulled into a gold Ford Ranger pickup truck. We are going to include a picture as well as a picture of the street so you guys can see this, but I mean it is wild that this guy acted while other people are watching in the daylight hours like Springfield was still over an hour away from sunset and even though it was winter the skies were clear and it was sunny that afternoon and quite warm which is why she was walking.

Yeah, I mean at least three neighborhood locals were present when Haley was taken. One neighbor, Carlos Edwards, who had been right there, right outside raking leaves at the time, chased after the truck as he watched Haley being pulled inside, while his wife Michelle called the police at 4.48pm and jotted down the license plate number, which she reported was either 1YF454 or 1YS454. So just one letter off and she almost had this entire license plate. So while she was doing this, Carlos took off running towards the truck yelling, don't touch her, knowing that he had absolutely just witnessed a strange abduction.

And because he was watching this short event unfold even before Haley was grabbed, he remembers reaching out for Haley, like physically reaching out for her, even saying that he got pretty close, but that the man sensed that his plan was about to be foiled and sped off with Haley before Carlos could interfere. Carlos said later, quote, he took off so fast his door was open. And this is just crazy. Like the gall of this predator to even snatch her while a man is standing in his yard, raking his leaves, just beyond the sidewalk.

I mean, close enough to even be able to grab her is insane. Like you said, it's daylight, you know, and he's doing this in front of numerous people. Yeah, it's so shocking, honestly, but the man was so quick and rough with her that Carlos described 10-year-old Haley being snatched and thrown as if she was a rag doll. Speaking with reporters later, Carlos explained, quote, he opened his door and said, come here for a minute. And she walked up towards the truck and soon as she got within hands reach, he grabbed her through her over him into the passenger seat and took off. Thankfully, Carlos was at least able to offer a description to the police when they responded.

So even though the perp had gotten off with Haley, Carlos and his wife, Michelle, were a massive help to the investigation. He recalled, quote, I could see him plain as day, see her plain as day, see his truck plain as day. However, he also admitted, quote, I'm nervous for the little girl. I'm hoping they found her. And I can only imagine how helpless they both felt and really everybody in the neighborhood that You know that he almost was able to grab her and it just happened so fast and obviously Even though they're standing around and aware enough that hey, this guy's like talking to this little girl Maybe I should be paying attention, but you don't know what's gonna happen

You know, they didn't know that suddenly he's just gonna grab her like what are the odds? What were the chances that that would happen, you know? So I could imagine just how helpless they felt watching the truck speed off. Oh, absolutely and what you're about to talk about there was another witness that actually tried to trace or chase down this truck that Haley and her abductor were in. Yes, exactly. So that other witness, the other neighbor was Ricky Riggins. And he actually hopped in his car and tried to chase after the truck that Haley had been pulled into. So everybody was really acting fast and doing what they could.

But unfortunately to Ricky's frustration, that end of day commuter traffic since this was almost 5 p. 5pm when this happened, really impeded his pursuit of the truck. He explained, quote, I couldn't keep up. He was probably five or six cars ahead of me. It was so fast. Ricky said to the press later that day, quote, I'm very sorry. I tried my hardest to try to keep up with the guy to find out what he was doing,

but I wasn't able to. I was just trying to do what I thought was right, and, you know, I was hoping I have a niece and nephew, and if something ever happened like that, I'd hope somebody would do the same thing." Well meanwhile back on Lombard Street, Carlos began knocking on doors, hoping to find the identity of this victim. Because he actually didn't know Hayley. Remember, she had been walking to a friend's house nearby. So while doing this, he came upon a young boy who said that the victim

resembled his sister, and led Carlos to his family's home on nearby Page Street. And this group effort from community members was later credited for finding her attacker so swiftly. However, Springfield police were later criticized for what is widely believed to have been a slow and ineffective response to Haley's kidnapping. Because the amber alert with her description, the two possible license plate numbers, and the description of her abductor and his vehicle was not issued until 7.07 PM, so over two hours after Haley was taken. But when it was, it was also released to Kansas and Oklahoma,

because police wondered if maybe her abductor could have fled the state of Missouri. When officers arrived at the spot in the area where she was taken from to begin their investigation, they started with tracking down the license plate of Haley's abductor because Michelle really came through with two solid options. Wondering if Haley had been targeted?

They questioned her frantic mother Stacey about who could have been targeting them or Haley or wanting to get closer to her. But Stacey couldn't come up with anyone who would have had the motive to have committed such a heinous act. Because of the nature of the offense, the FBI was involved in the search. They became involved in the search in the very beginning. And thankfully, because the witnesses had near certainty about the license plate,

police were able to ascertain the identity of the perpetrator fairly quickly. The car was registered to a man named Jim Wood, who lived in Ashgrove, Missouri, which is a rural community, just about 30 minutes southwest of Springfield. Well, Jim told police that he had been letting his son use the vehicle and directed them to his son's address back in Springfield, which is obviously where Haley lived

and where she was taken from. So by 8.30 that evening, about three and a half hours after the abduction took place, authorities were pulling into the man's residence at 1538 East Stanford in Southeast Springfield, the home of 45-year year old Craig Michael Wood. And by the way, his house was not in the same neighborhood. It was like an eight minute drive or a three mile drive away

from where Haley was abducted. And this is really where the frustration of the delay really comes in because having that license plate number should have led them to this door much sooner, right? You know, on one hand, you wonder if three and a half hours would be soon enough to save her life. But in this type of situation where every single second counts, gleaning this address sooner could have made all the difference.

Oh, absolutely. I mean, you had you had a description, you had witnesses, you had the license plate, you had the type and make and model of the truck. Why did it take you three and a half hours to get to this person's residence? Yeah, it's like on one hand you're like, oh, that was pretty quick when you look at a lot of other cases where there's no resolution or you don't show up at the perp's house for weeks or years, you know? Sure.

But in this type of situation, it really does matter, which is why they got so much flak for it. So let's talk about Craig a little bit more now. 45 year old Craig did have a criminal history, but there was nothing in his behavior to indicate the perverse and sadistic turn that his crimes took according to those who knew him. Back in 1990, so 24 years prior when he would have been about 20 years old, he was convicted of possession of marijuana. Simple enough, nothing really bad here. But some of his extended family members were apparently known for being heavy drinkers, and Craig was no exception. He also had a DUI charge from when he was a teenager, and the report notes that Craig feared he was an alcoholic. In 2001 he was convicted of illegal theft of wildlife I

don't know what that means. What the hell does that mean? Were you stealing the pigs from somebody's farm or something? I did not find the details there but I'm like disturbed by that but in recent years, or sorry in recent years, he had been a quiet and seemingly harmless figure in the community where he had spent his entire life. Craig grew up Catholic, he was an altar boy, and interestingly enough, he obtained a bachelor's degree in psychology

with a minor in criminal justice from Southwest Missouri State University, now known simply as Missouri State University, and he graduated in 1992. Wow, what a turn of events to go into criminal justice and then become a criminal. Yeah, and this is kind of what I mean, is like his background, there's nothing really here that's leading you to think that he's somebody who could do something like this.

I mean, on top of this, not that you can't do these things as a killer, but like he was, well, this is kind of separate. He was a deer hunter. So I was a hunter, but like he played mandolin in a local bluegrass band called uncle Fudd. Um, like this guy, James Dishman, he was the parent of one of Craig's friends and bandmates told the press later, quote, in my mind, he's soft hearthearted, he's a gentle type of man. He liked people, he liked animals. I can't hardly fathom this.

Yeah, it just kind of seems like he was blending into society. Yeah, total wolf and sheep's clothing. And actually more on this, Jeff Ward, who was a friend of Craig's from high school who used to play in a band with him, remembered, quote, he was actually very intelligent. He had a steady girlfriend at the time and was a typical athletic type guy. They would reconnect every few years and Jeff always thought that Craig seemed stable.

In recent years, disturbingly enough considering him abducting 10 year old Haley, Craig had actually been working with kids as a temp for a school district from 1998 to 2006. And then in 2006, he was hired full time. Ugh, that just gives me chills thinking about a predator working around children. Yeah, because, like up until Haley's abduction, he had been working for Pleasant View Elementary and Middle School as a teacher's aide and the boys football coach. You know, yeah, like you're saying, this is the last type of person that you want to be around kids professionally or in really any situation. Absolutely. Well, alongside Haley's family

and the entire city of Springfield, Craig's Pleasantview community reeled from the news, just completely shocked and appalled that one of their own could be capable of such a thing. Principal Donna Aldrich admitted that many teachers, students, and parents were obviously horrified at the revelation that a school employee could have done this. Donna added that many parents called to ask how they could approach the issue of, you know, discussing Haley's murder with their young school-age kids. So the school ended up bringing counselors and extra support staff in to talk to the

kids, to just field questions, and answer phone calls from parents. So when Craig arrived home that evening, the evening that he abducted Haley Owens, authorities were waiting for him, and they approached him before he even stepped out of his truck, which of course matched the description of the abductor's vehicle exactly down to the license plate number. When asked, he initially denied being Haley's abductor, and Haley was just nowhere in sight.

He claimed that he had arrived home from work at 3.15pm, remember her abduction happened around 4.45pm, and then he said that he headed out for a walk with his dog and to run a few errands. Police questioned whether he'd be willing to come to the station for questioning with them and he agreed to do so actually, but by the time they arrived at police headquarters he stopped talking and he just demanded a lawyer, likely sensing how serious his predicament was becoming and knowing that he was very very much guilty here. Police later reflected that his denial of the crime was hard to believe as he reeked of

bleach and the t-shirt that he was wearing at the time bore blood stains. Yeah, I don't know how you're going to get out of that one. Yeah, I mean, so naturally police just sensed the worst regarding Haley's fate. I mean, what else could this mean? Like the fact that he's standing there saying he had nothing to do with it. Oh, I was out running errands and I was with my dog on a walk and it's like you smell of bleach and there's blood on you, dude. Yeah, all the things combined. The fact that your license plate matches, the witnesses saw you, your truck matches, and also now you have blood on your clothes and you smell Eureka Bleach, dude. Yeah, you're caught. And there was a lot of important and horrific things found inside Craig's house.

So once police had obtained a search warrant and began to probe for any sign of Haley there, Craig's unfinished basement, later described by officers as a dungeon, revealed the horrors that investigators feared that they'd find when they entered his home. They reported the removal of what they described as quote, items associated with child kidnapping and assault, which included multiple plastic rubber made

tubs, duct tape, clothing belonging to the victim, blood, hair, and blood stained items. Additionally, they seized DVDs, computers, pictures, cell phones, and cameras from the home in what became a larger investigation based on what they found inside. They also found personalized items and journals written by the perpetrator, detailing his fantasies, about and plans for the crime that he wound up committing. And sadly, inside the two rubber made tubs right there in his basement, police recovered the remains of 10 year old Haley Owens. At 3 AM on Wednesday, February 19th, 2014, the morning after Haley's abduction, Springfield

police contacted her parents to inform them of the tragic outcome of their search. Later that morning, a press conference was held to update the community on the developments and they were again widely criticized for the slow issue of the Amber conference that Haley's body had been found, officers admitted that she had not yet been positively identified due to the damage done by Craig's grievous act, but that they had a, quote, high degree of confidence that the remains belonged to poor Haley. Thankfully, Bond was denied in Craig's case, as his Bond document stated, quote, Defendant sought out a child victim, abducted her and killed her.

Defendant is dangerous, and there are no conditions of release which will protect the community. His parents, Genie and Jim Wood, were allegedly shocked and dismayed at the charges being leveled against their son. So they hired a law firm to act as their family spokesperson.

The firm issued a statement after Craig's arrest that read, quote, Jim and Jeannie are good people with excellent reputations and unblemished records as lifelong residents of Southwest Missouri. Both have long distinguished careers as a teacher and a nurse. The unexpected incident involving their son, Craig, has been a shock and they are grieving. They join the rest of the community in praying as their hearts pour out to the Owens family.

As the state built their case against him, more developments were revealed to the community, including multiple texts from those who knew him joking about him being Haley's kidnapper. What the fuck, she's just such a piece of shit. Well here- So here's what they said. So a forensic search of his device has uncovered two texts from friends sent immediately after that Amber Alert was issued.

Now one of them asked Craig, you haven't been hunting, have you? Which is so gross and I'm- honestly I'm sure he was- I'm sure he was like, oh well this is definitely not you. He obviously didn't know, but still, in hindsight, you're like, seriously, dude? Yeah, seriously, just a sick and twisted comment.

Yeah, I mean, it's a horrible thing to say, either way. And then another guy said, Oh great, I just got an Amber Alert about a gold Ford Ranger. What have you and Bear done? And this is in reference to Craig's dog. So, so gross, but I was actually curious about how often an amber alert leads to direct recovery in a case like this if someone notices the vehicle in question out in the wild because, you know, so often we'll get them and we'll be home. And I

always think, is somebody really out there on the road looking for this car? Like how, how can you possibly, I don't know, you know, when you're driving, how many people are really paying attention to what cars are next to them? And it's only reported to be about 17 to 20% of the time that an Amber Alert is issued. Does somebody really notice the vehicle and it helps in the investigation?

But obviously they're still very important to get out there for the sake of public awareness and clearly at least two people in Craig's life thought of his car in this scenario. So, you know, maybe because it was a pretty specific car, a gold Ford Ranger, never really see those. Yeah, definitely. But this is why it's so important

to get this out as soon as possible. Well, and I was gonna say, it's not just people that are on the road driving who are getting these amber alerts that can be looking out for vehicles. It's people that are walking on the sidewalk next to a street. It's people in their front yards, just like the witnesses in this case, you know? Yeah, and also people who are home or wherever the hell they are at work, wherever, and they see that and they say, oh, I know that car.

That's Craig Wood's car. That's Craig Dickbag Wood's car. Well, when the autopsy was completed, more information was made available about what had happened to Haley between when she was taken and when she was found mere hours later. To the dismay of her entire community, the damage done to her body revealed that she had been sexually assaulted before her death. And afterward, she had been shot point blank in the back of the head with a.22 caliber pistol and her body had been stowed in two separate trash bags in two separate Rubbermaid containers in his basement.

FBI agents believed that the 22 was the most quiet and therefore the least detectable gun that Craig owned, which is probably why he used it. And the FBI also raided the local Dutch made laundry laundromat in East Springfield, which is near Craig's home, removing multiple bags of evidence because Craig had attempted to clean up and dispose of evidence there immediately after the murder, which is why he had been out of the house when the police arrived. The clothes that he had been wearing at the time, as well as some bedding from his home were taken from the laundromat and More items of Haley's clothing were discarded in a dumpster behind a strip mall near Craig's home. So he Committed this crime in his home

Stored her body and then immediately got into his truck and started disposing of the evidence around town And so he did this very quickly. Yeah, absolutely evidence around town. And so he did this very quickly. Yeah, absolutely. It's extremely fast. Well, a receipt found in his personal effects showed that he had purchased a laundry bag and duct tape on the evening that Hailey was murdered.

And video footage from Walmart showed him returning to purchase bleach and drain cleaner just an hour after Hailey was abducted. And then as soon as he returned from this outing, police descended upon his home. In addition to evidence that would implicate him in Haley's abduction, rape, and murder, police also recovered as many as 29 guns

and a large stash of child sexual abuse material in both a digital and print form Yeah And the scary thing here is that if he had somehow gotten away with Haley's murder and police couldn't find her killer He probably would have done this again because it seemed like this wasn't just some one-off thing He's collecting child sexual abuse material. So, yeah. Exactly. And it also makes you wonder if he had actually done it before this and he just didn't get caught because also in his home, in the dresser in his bedroom, were handwritten sexual fantasies

about young girls. So yeah, just like you're saying, this was not a new thing. This was not a random one-off. He had been wanting to do this if he hadn't done it already. Also removed from the home were four school pictures of girls from the school that he worked at. See, that's exactly what I'm talking about. This sick fuck was out there, like, basically picking his next victims. Yeah, and I mean, it's so gross to think about the fact

that he had been working at this school and probably leering at these little girls every day and keeping their photos. It's so disgusting. Oh, God. Well, as new horrors from the investigation were revealed each day that passed, Haley's family issued a statement that read, quote,

"'We want to express our deepest gratitude to the community and beyond for the outpouring of sympathy and support for us and Haley. We ask for your continued respect of our privacy during this extremely difficult time. From around the state, supporters of Haley and her family sported pink and purple, which were Haley's favorite colors, sending in photos to be aired on the

news alongside updates about Haley's case. And multiple area businesses stepped in to support the family, setting up funds for funeral expenses or hosting events in which they would donate a portion of the proceeds. That Saturday, February 22, 2014, a vigil was held in Haley's honor, which drew about 10,000 supporters, much of the town, all donning pink and purple outfits, holding candles, and chanting Haley's name while marching down the streets. Then the next day, Sunday, a fundraising motorcycle ride was held in Haley's honor. At first, Haley's mom Stacey recalls collapsing with grief.

But after she was able to collect her thoughts, she told a reporter, quote, "'My little girl was my life. I think I would feel better if at least I would know who he was, because I would kind of know why maybe he was looking at her. Why do they go after little kids? Carlos Edwards lamented, quote, there's a lot of pedophiles that live in this area. There's a lot. And there's a lady who came around and said that the guy had sat down the block in his

truck, I guess casing for what he wanted to do for like two weeks. So he had it planned out. I was just talking to a friend of ours about this the other day because sometimes I'll look at the citizen app for those Who don't know it's like a tells you the crimes being committed in your area like if there's a robbery or a fire or whatever and there's also a sex offender tab and it is just Insanely sick how many there are out there and I'm so glad that we're in a time when we can see this and be aware But it doesn't change the fact that they're all over the place It's honestly unreal when you open the tab and they're like these little orange ish

Circles and they're just littering the entire city and area. Yeah, it's crazy like you you never think that you're living next to sexual offenders or Pedophiles or something like that and then you see that in the app and it's like Oh my god, there's 1.5 miles from my fucking house. No exactly I was just thinking that because the other day I got a notification that said that a new Registered sex offender lives point four miles from our house And I'm like well this is and then you'll you look you're like oh I wonder like where the closest one is and they're again

They're everywhere. It's so like something. I don't know what can be done about this, but Why is this a thing? You know, it's just so sick and sad Especially as well when you remember that these are just the people who have gotten caught for it So when you look at the map and you see all those circles and those dots These are only the ones who have been caught. These are not the ones who haven't been caught or are just starting to have these urges, if you will, or these thoughts or fantasies. So scary. Well, at Craig's first hearing, he was charged with first degree murder, armed criminal action, and child kidnapping. And prosecutors announced that he would face either the death penalty or life in prison.

Craig Wood's trial began in October of 2017, so three painstaking years after Haley's murder. Craig's attorney Patrick Berrigan leaned on the excuse that Haley's murder was not premeditated, and that it had been an ill-fated act of impulse, born from methamphetamine use and suppressed sexual urges. What I want to know is, like, how do you sleep at night being the defense attorney for a child rapist and murderer and saying shit like this? It's just totally insane. You can't blame any amount of drugs or any amount of anything

on the fact that this person was a child predator and murdered a child. Well they freaking did. Like his team heavily relied on the defense that he had been using methamphetamine at the time of Haley's murder, as though that is any excuse for doing what he did. And they even claim that he had been on a three day bender at the time, unaware of the gravity of what he had done. Though let us remember all the child sexual abuse material in his home, along with fantasy diaries and letters about similar devious acts on kids. Like, yeah, it's just the meth though.

Yeah, it was just the meth. I was on a three day bender and you know, it's not like I didn't have pictures of kids from my fucking the school that I work at in my in my home. Truly and I will say meth is very much an issue in southwest Missouri and Missouri in general because for multiple years running the state has kind of if you will earned itself the title the meth capital of the country and also led the country with the most meth labs with nearly 28 per 100,000 residents so They're using this because it's their only angle as though they should even be allowed a BS angle like this or any angle at all

But the prosecution did have the upper hand in this case luckily the forensic pathologist who conducted Haley's autopsy, Dr. Carl Stacy, testified before the court that he had found a ligature marks indicating that she had been bound before her death. Jurors were shown pictures of her body, which caused as you guys can imagine, many people to openly weep during the trial. The blue totes where her body were placed were also left visible throughout the duration of the trial.

Victim impact statements were read from Haley's friends, teachers, family, and her pastor. And her teacher described how frightened and devastated her classmates were after the whole ordeal, and her family spoke of the trauma that it inflicted on her little brother. Her pastor even explained how few parents would allow their children to walk or play outside by themselves anymore because now they're aware, wait this can even happen in our neighborhood, it can happen anywhere. Well on November 2nd 2017, Craig Wood was found guilty of first degree murder.

But the jury was actually locked in indecision about his sentence, leaving his fate up to the judge. So, on January 11th, 2018, Judge Thomas Mountjoy announced that Craig Wood would be sentenced to death for his crimes. Now 11 years after Haley's murder, he remains on death row. He has twice appealed his case and in 2019, the Missouri Supreme Court heard his legal team's arguments about how his sentence should be reduced to life imprisonment, but his sentence of death was upheld.

In March of last year, 2024, a new legal team made up of public defenders Valerie Leftwich and Edward Thompson again attempted to dissuade a jury from the death penalty. In a move that would shock and disgust the courtroom, Craig's lawyers claimed that he sought Haley out because Haley apparently resembled his childhood girlfriend. The one and only girlfriend that he had had in his life, the 13 year old girl that he had dated when he was a teenager, which is just such BS. The defense called a psychologist to stand as a witness, and the psychologist confirmed that in an interview, Craig had admitted to tracking Haley down because of her uncanny resemblance to the girl in his past How is this even a good reason or an excuse like okay, and yeah, where's the relevance?

Literally zero relevance to murdering a child and it also doesn't make it any less creepy by the way like okay, so She looks like your childhood girlfriend that's still insanely sick like what? It's definitely not helping at all. No but they think it is like why are you even bringing this up guys? Well Valerie and Edward called multiple mental health professionals to the stand to testify about their clients poor mental fortitude but this was just seen as a really really weak argument as it should be.

Duh. As Craig had been holding down a long-term job, working with children, and had a stable day-to-day life with a home, a car, a dog, and even a small circle of friends. Well, things are about to take what seemed originally like a possible turn in the case, because after a very public fall from grace as a grieving father, defense attorneys also highlighted the potential link between Haley's stepfather and her assault and death. In 2018, Haley's stepfather, Jeff Barfield, was arrested for possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material between 2012 and 2016.

What is going on with these sickos? This is what we mean. Like, these sickos are everywhere. Well, incidentally, Jeff also used meth as an excuse for his actions, and Craig's defense team pointed to a lack of DNA from Craig on Hayley's body, even though her body was in his house, her blood was on his shirt, like, I don't, they're, they're trying to use Jeff as a scapegoat here. Right, and just really grasping at straws. Right, and obviously, all this stuff about Jeff, this is absolutely horrific, so it's

not like he's just some upstanding guy who did nothing wrong, and they're trying to use him as a scapegoat for no reason. they're kind of using his crimes to say, oh, well, this guy was living in Haley's home, he did this. Yeah, he could have definitely done it, right? Right, but none of these arguments held up in court because all the evidence that they needed was located in Craig's home and Craig's sentence was once again upheld.

Jeff Barfield, on the other hand, was sentenced to seven years in prison on his charges and 10 years probation. He was actually released from prison in 2022. And for those wondering there is no evidence that Haley was in any way a victim of her stepfather. Again this is just something the defense was trying to use as leverage. One small positive impact from this horrific crime is the establishment of Haley's Law, which her mom, Stacey, fought tooth and nail for, frequently heading to Missouri's Capitol to advocate for it herself and to speak with politicians and lawmakers directly.

Haley's Law bypasses some of the timely paperwork and bureaucracy that stands in the way of issuing Amber Alerts as swiftly as possible. So now, officers can radio the Amber Alert from their cars directly to the police station and the public can be notified immediately. So this saves valuable minutes and gives the public the best possible chance to pursue the missing child and return them safely Which is something that may have saved Haley something I think about is the fact that her neighbor Ricky had driven after her and there were Five six cars in front of him had they only known and been made aware

I mean this obviously he was chasing this guy before the police were even called right But imagine if it had been issued very quickly and somebody looks down at their phone for a second and gets that amber alert and looks up and said, wait, it's right there. It's in front of me. Boom. There's Craig's truck right there.

Exactly. So this was such an important law to pass. In May of 2014, the playground at the Park of Haley School, which again was Westport Elementary, was renamed Haley's Playground in her honor. A ceremony was held to memorialize her as well, complete with a sign sporting pink and purple balloons, of course, and another picture of her.

Though an execution date has not been set for Craig for now, Craig is still being held in the Potosi Correctional Center in Mineral Point, Missouri. And the house where the crimes took place was struck to the ground and a community garden now grows in its place. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. It's amazing that Haley's Law was passed, so hopefully we can keep kids out there a lot more safe from predators and assholes like Craig Wood.

Yeah, this was such a disgusting case. I know cases like this can be really, really hard to hear, but it's also important to know that these kinds of things happen and Haley's story absolutely deserved to be told. So thank you so much again to Jace for recommending this story. If you guys want to see pictures associated with this case, head on over to our socials. We're on Instagram at Going West Podcasts, and we're also on Facebook. And if you have a case that you want want to see pictures associated with this case, head on over to our socials. We're on Instagram at going west podcast and we're also on Facebook.

And if you have a case that you want us to cover, our list is long, but we are always accepting new case recommendations. Email us, please email us going west podcast at gmail.com. All right, guys, have a great weekend. We will see you on Tuesday. And for everybody out there in the world. Don't be a good boy, I'm gonna be a good boy So I'm just a little bit of a wimp. Thanks for watching!