Couple Sentenced in Death of Royal Oak Woman

Alan Wood, 49, was sentenced to life in prison for slaying Nancy Dailey in her home in 2011.

Two parole absconders were sentenced Friday morning in the slaying of an 80-year-old Royal Oak woman. Alan Wood, 49, convicted of first-degree murder in January, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of Nancy Dailey in her Trafford Road home on Nov. 20, 2011. Tonia Watson, 41, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, was also sentenced to to 23 to 80 years in prison. She cut a deal with prosecutors in exchange for testifying truthfully.  According to Watson’s testimony, a couple of weeks before Dailey was slain, the elderly woman paid the couple—broke, homeless and struggling with drug addiction—$40 to rake leaves for 30 minutes. She said that later they discussed robbing someone and Dailey’s name came up.  After…

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Women Pleads Guilty in Killing of Elderly Royal Oak Woman

Tonia Watson agrees to testify against her co-defendant in the brutal slaying of Nancy Dailey.

Royal Oak Murder Defendant's Confession 'Made Out of Confusion,' Attorney Says

Royal Oak police detectives are cross-examined in Oakland County Circuit Court in the Nancy Dailey murder case Wednesday.

Legal Arguments Delayed in Stabbing Death of Royal Oak Woman

Attorney for Tonia Watson asks for one week delay citing "technical difficulties."

Defendant in Royal Oak Woman's Slaying Denied Separate Trial

Judge allows separate juries for Alan Wood and Tonia Watson in the Nov. 12 stabbing death of 80-year-old Nancy Dailey.

A parole absconder ordered to trial on murder charges in the November slaying of an 80-year-old Royal Oak woman on Wednesday was denied a request for a trial separate from his co-defendant, The Detroit New reports. Oakland Circuit Judge Colleen O'Brien ruled that Alan Wood and Tonia Watson would get their own jury, but no separate trial for Wood. Wood and Watson are charged in the Nov. 20 beating and stabbing death of Nancy Dailey in her Trafford Road home. Wood is charged with premeditated first-degree murder and felony murder while Watson is charged with felony murder, both of which carry a mandatory life imprisonment penalty. In addition, Watson and Wood are charged with larceny in a building and unauthorized use of a financial …

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Summer Trial Date Set for Pair Charged in Fatal Stabbing of Elderly Woman

Two parole absconders charged in the slaying of a 80-year-old woman in her Trafford Road home were arraigned in Oakland County Circuit Court today.

PONTIAC — Tonia Watson, 40, and Alan Wood, 49, were arraigned in Oakland County Circuit Court Tuesday morning in the stabbing death of 80-year-old Nancy Dailey. Circuit Judge Colleen O’Brien set a trial date of July 23. Wood is charged with premeditated first-degree murder and felony murder while Watson is charged with felony murder, both of which carry a mandatory life imprisonment penalty. In addition, Watson and Wood are charged with larceny in a building and unauthorized use of a financial transaction device. The Detroit Free Press reports defense attorney Elias Escobedo, who represents Wood, is expected to file a motion within weeks, asking that the two defendants have separate juries, thus preventing jurors from deciding Wood’s fate …

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Pair Ordered to Stand Trial in Slaying of 80-Year-Old Royal Oak Woman

Last of DNA testimony links Alan Wood to a blue scarf and the victim's nail clippings.

Two homeless parole absconders were ordered to trial on murder charges in the November slaying of an 80-year-old Royal Oak woman after their preliminary exam concluded Friday morning. After completing DNA testimony in 44th District Court in Royal Oak on Friday morning, Judge Terrence Brennan said he was satisfied prosecutors established probable cause to try Alan Craig Wood, 48, and Tonia Michelle Watson, 40, in the robbery, brutal beating and killing of Nancy Dailey in her Trafford Road home. Wood is charged with premeditated first-degree murder and felony murder while Watson is charged with felony murder, both of which carry a mandatory life imprisonment penalty. In addition, Watson and Wood are charged with larceny in a building and …

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Testimony: DNA Evidence Doesn't Link Defendants to Slain Royal Oak Women

The preliminary examination of Alan Wood and Tonia Watson, who face murder charges in the Nov. 20 killing death of Nancy Dailey in her home, continued Friday in 44th District Court.

DNA evidence taken from the scene where an 80-year-old woman Royal Oak woman was killed in November do not positively link the two parole absconders charged in the case to the victim, according to testimony Friday from a Royal Oak Police detective and two Michigan State Police lab technicians. Alan Craig Wood, 48, and Tonia Michelle Watson, 40, are charged with murder in the brutal slaying of Nancy Dailey in her Woodwardside Subdivision home. The preliminary examination for the two continued today in 44th District Court before Judge Terrence Brennan. Testimony Friday focused on evidence such as nail clippings, a washcloth with traces of blood on it, a blue scarf used to bind Dailey's arms, a knife encased in dirt that was removed from the …

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Parole Agents Suspended After Letting Go Pair Now Charged in Royal Oak Slaying

Michigan Department of Corrections investigates how parolees Wood and Watson remained free last fall before allegedly killing 80-year-old Nancy Dailey.

The Michigan Department of Corrections has suspended two parole agents who allowed the man and woman who are charged with murder in the death of an 80-year-old Royal Oak woman to remain free last fall, according to a Detroit Free Press report. Parole absconders Alan Wood, 48, and Tonia Watson, 40, were arrested in Canton just two days after Nancy Dailey was killed in her Trafford Road home on Nov. 20. Records obtained by the Free Press show parole agents knew Wood and Watson were suspects in the thefts of a gun from a Berkley home and credit cards from a Royal Oak home, but they remained free. A month before Dailey’s brutal slaying, corrections officials cited Wood for three parole violations, but then let him go. After her arrest, Watson …

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‘I Tried to Help You,' Nancy Dailey Said to Pair Before Killing Her, Royal Oak Detective Testifies

Cousin and neighbor testify about finding 80-year-old woman dead in her home during hearing Friday.

Update, 4:30 p.m. Friday: Broke, homeless and struggling with drug addiction, Alan Wood and Tonia Watson broke into Nancy Dailey’s Royal Oak home where they robbed and Wood brutally beat and then killed the 80-year-old woman, a Royal Oak Police detective testified Friday. Alan Craig Wood, 48, is charged with premeditated first-degree murder and felony murder while Tonia Michelle Watson, 40, is charged with felony murder, both of which carry a mandatory life imprisonment penalty. In addition, Watson and Wood are charged with larceny in a building and unauthorized use of a financial transaction device. During the pair’s preliminary exam in 44th District Court in Royal Oak on Friday afternoon, Detective Perry Edgell testified about …

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