Student used car 'weapon' to murder boyfriend

A PHILOSOPHY student who 'lost her temper' and ran over her fiance has been found guilty of his murder.

- THOMAS GEORGE

Manchester University student Alice Wood, 23, used her Ford Fiesta as a weapon when she hit partner Ryan Watson, 24, near the home they shared on May 6 of last year.

Wood denied murder and an alternative count of manslaughter as she claimed her boyfriend's death was a 'tragic accident!

She told her trial at Chester Crown Court she did not realise he was trapped underneath her car when she drove 158 metres up Sandbach Road before stopping.

But a jury convicted Wood of murder following the three-week trial. Ryan was killed after Wood repeatedly drove her car at him in what witnesses described as a game of 'chicken' after she lost her temper.

The pair had returned to the Cheshire home they shared shortly after 11pm after attending a party at which both had been drinking alcohol.

Wood drove Ryan's Fiat Punto home and both exited the vehicle. At about 11.20pm, Wood was seen on CCTV getting into her own car, a Ford Fiesta, and reversing it out of its space while Ryan is seen walking around in the vicinity.