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Moment student murders fiancé with her car after argument over party flirting

A philosophy student who killed her fiancé by running him over near their home has been found guilty of murder. Alice Wood, 23, dragged the ...



A philosophy student who killed her fiancé by running him over near their home has been found guilty of murder.


Alice Wood, 23, dragged the body of Ryan Watson 500 feet along a road after driving deliberately towards him in an effort to scare him.


Mr Watson, 24, was a support worker for the the brain injury charity Headway, and the couple had just returned from a charity event when they started an intense argument on May 6 2022, Chester Crown Court heard.


Outside their home in Rode Heath, Cheshire, Wood – who was over the drink-driving limit – got behind the wheel and hit her boyfriend’s car, a bin and a bollard.


Prosecutor Andrew Ford told the court she drove her car backwards and forwards in what one witness described as a ‘game of chicken’.


Mr Watson tried to walk away and stood in front of parked cars but she drove directly into him, turning off the carriageway to hit him, Mr Ford said.


He continued: ‘She drove straight into Ryan Watson for the second time, head on.


‘This time he did not go over the bonnet – she knocked him clean over, under the vehicle’s front end.

In her own testimony, Wood said the argument had erupted after they both accused each other of flirting with other attendees at the party.


She told the jury: ‘He started calling me a slag, saying I’d embarrassed him and shown him up in front of everyone.’


Breaking down in court while recalling the aftermath of the incident, she added: ‘It was like stepping into a nightmare because I could see Ryan underneath the car.


‘It was like I was in hell, it didn’t seem real.’


Wood, who was preparing to begin a postgraduate degree at Cambridge, had denied murder and an alternative count of manslaughter, describing her boyfriend’s death as a ‘tragic accident’.

The jury took eight hours of deliberation to find her guilty of murder, and she showed no emotion as they delivered their unanimous verdict.


In a statement following the conviction, Mr Watson’s family described him as a ‘bubbly, fun-loving, caring person with a heart of gold’, who loved sport and his dogs.


They continued: ‘We only had 24 years together, but we are proud to say he was our son and a fantastic big brother.


‘We are grateful today we got justice for Ryan. 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.


‘The one person Ryan trusted the most is the person who took his life in such a violent way. I am living in a nightmare knowing my son’s last moments were so brutal.’

Addressing Wood, Judge Michael Leeming said: ‘You have been convicted of the murder of Ryan Watson. There is only one sentence that the law allows and that is life imprisonment.


‘I am required to consider the minimum term you must serve in custody before the Parole Board deems it safe for you to be released.


‘You may never be released. It is a matter entirely for the Parole Board.’


Sentencing is due to take place on January 29.