Stephen Herzog

SHERZOG@NEWS-LEADER.COM

An attorney for the man accused of kidnapping and killing Hailey Owens has asked to have the case moved out of Greene County.

Patrick Berrigan filed the motion Monday, saying that "media coverage of these allegations, and the sympathy, passion and prejudice it has evoked, the inhabitants of Greene County are prejudiced against defendant, and the state has an undue influence over them."

Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson objected to the change, denying that Greene County residents are prejudiced against Wood or that the state has an undue influence over residents.

Change of venue requests are automatically granted in counties with fewer than 75,000 inhabitants, but Greene County is much larger.

Patterson also filed a motion this week to require Wood to submit a handwriting sample.

Police previously executed a search warrant for a letter Wood had handwritten in an attempt to get a sample.

Police and prosecutors are interested in Wood's handwriting because they are attempting to prove he wrote pornographic stories that were found in his home after Hailey's body was discovered there.

Wood is charged with murder, kidnapping, rape, sodomy and armed criminal action in the death of 10-year-old Hailey.

Police say Hailey was abducted from her neighborhood on Feb. 18 and found dead hours later.

Authorities say Wood took Hailey to his home and shot her in the back of the head.

Police say her body was found in two garbage bags inside a plastic storage tote in Wood's basement, which smelled of bleach.

Wood was arrested at his Stanford Street home a few hours after Hailey was reportedly kidnapped.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the case.