Pair Charged With Murder In Slaying Of Elderly Royal Oak Woman

(WWJ) Wearing shackles and standing in a jury box, Tonia Watson, 40, was formally charged with murder and using the ATM card of Nancy Dailey, a murdered 80-year-old Royal Oak woman who was found bound to a chair with her throat slit last month.

Watson's alleged accomplice Alan Wood, 48, was arraigned via videotape.

Both faced Judge Terrance Brennan Tuesday afternoon in Royal Oak's 44th District Court, and each of them was ordered jailed without bond.

Police said Dailey had hired the homeless couple, who were staying in a Woodward Avenue motel, to rake her leaves.  It's unclear how they got into her home, but investigators say they came expressly to rob the elderly woman.

"We see alot of tragedy in life when we see strangers picking on the vulnerable of our community," Jessica Cooper said during a talk earlier Tuesday on how seniors can be safe from violent crimes.

Wood is charged with first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, two counts of unauthorized use/possession of a financial transaction device and larceny in a building.

Watson is charged with felony murder and the unauthorized use/possession of a financial transaction device and larceny in a building.

First-degree premeditated and felony murder each carry a mandatory penalty of life in prison upon conviction. Unauthorized use of a financial transaction device carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison. Larceny in a building carries a maximum of four years in prison.