Man accused of killing Hailey Owens gets new judge

More than a year after charges were first filed, a new judge has been assigned to the murder case against Craig Wood.

Wood, 47, is accused of kidnapping and killing 10-year-old Hailey Owens last February in Springfield.

Retiring judge Dan Conklin recused himself from the case Tuesday, and the case was assigned to Judge David Jones on Wednesday.

Conklin, who is set to retire in July, said ideally he would have kept the case until it could be passed to his successor, but he did not want to slow up the process anymore so he recused himself this week.

Wood is charged with first-degree murder, child kidnapping, rape, sodomy and armed criminal action. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if he is convicted.

Wood's last court appearance was in October. A trial date has not yet been set.

Hailey, a Westport Elementary fourth-grader, was abducted near her home on Feb. 18, 2014. Her body was found, hours later, wrapped in garbage bags in Wood's basement.

Wood is a former teaching assistant and coach at Pleasant View Middle School.

A Kansas City area jury is expected hear Wood's trial in Springfield, whenever it is held.

In October, Conklin ordered that certain evidence in the case — including the defendant's alleged child porn stories and children's photos found in his home — cannot be viewed by Wood alone in the jail.

Prosecutors filed a discovery response on Wednesday saying they plan to present surveillance footage of Wood on Feb. 18, 2014 at Walmart Neighborhood Market on Glenstone Avenue, behind Cosmic Fish on Glenstone Avenue and at Pleasant Valley Middle School.

Wood's case is the third murder case Judge Jones has added in a little more than a month. Jones was also assigned in April to murder cases against Daniel Mauldin and Jose Huckleberry.