A woman who ran over and killed her fiancé because he chatted to another woman at abirthday party has been sentenced to life in prison. On 2February 2024, philosophy student Alice Wood, 24, was told she must serve at least 18 years for killing charity support worker Ryan Watson, 24, in 2022.
During her trial, the court heard that the couple had been at a party in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, on 6May, where Ryan got chatting to a woman, who felt Wood was “glaring” at her during the exchange. The couple left together and allegedly argued over who would drive, before Wood accused her partner of flirting with the woman. Wood then drove Ryan’s car to their home in Rode Heath, Cheshire, but when they arrived at around 11.30pm, Wood got into her own vehicle and repeatedly attempted to run over Ryan as he walked away.
Ryan was knocked onto the front of the car and hit his head, before managing to stand upright, but the third time Wood drove at him, he was pulled under the car. Wood then drove for over 150 metres with Ryan trapped, as onlookers reported hearing him scream. When she eventually stopped, Wood knocked on a near by door, saying, “Please phone an ambulance. I think I’ve run over my boyfriend”. Ryan was declared dead at the scene, and Wood was arrested the next day, where she claimed it had been a “tragic accident”. Wood was found to be well over the legal driving limit, after drinking wine, rum and Champagne, and the prosecutor told the court, “Whilst deeply serious and tragic, this is a simple case. [Wood] lost her temper, had an argument with her boyfriend when they were drunk, in a car. Things became fraught, he got out, kicked a door, and she lost her cool and used the car as a weapon.”
Sentencing Wood at Chester Crown Court, the judge told her, “You accelerated towards [Ryan], giving him no chance to move away. Your intention was then
