Posted on 11/11/2007 11:10:08 PM PST by McCoMo
Sheriff: Men confess to crime
By Debbie Robinson
news@joplinglobe.com
STELLA, Mo. — Both defendants in the brutal rape and murder of 9-year-old Rowan Ford have confessed to the crime, the Newton County sheriff said Sunday.
David Spears, 25, of Stella, and Chris Collings, 32, of Wheaton, are charged with one count each of first-degree murder, forcible rape and statutory rape in the girl’s death. Spears is Rowan’s stepfather.
Newton County Sheriff Ken Copeland said investigators allege that Rowan was abducted early Nov. 3 from her home in Stella in Newton County, murdered in Barry County, and her body dumped in a sinkhole in McDonald County.
After a nearly weeklong search for the girl, Copeland said, Collings confessed Friday to Wheaton police Chief Clint Clark. Spears was arrested a short time later.
“Both confessed to raping and strangling her,” Copeland said.
Clark did not return a phone call Sunday. The Barry County sheriff’s office in Cassville said Sheriff Mick Epperly would have no updates on the case until Tuesday.
Investigators are continuing to work on determining what happened the night Rowan was abducted from her home, Copeland said.
David Spears has provided conflicting information to investigators since Spears and Rowan’s mother, Colleen Spears, reported the girl missing about 6:50 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, Copeland said.
During the search for Rowan, Copeland said, David Spears rode around with another man.
“He (Spears) was pointing out to this man where would be good places to put a body,” Copeland said.
One of those places was the sinkhole in McDonald County where the girl’s body ultimately was found, the sheriff said.
“It’s about 15 to 20 feet down, and it was getting dark,” Copeland said of the time David Spears reportedly pointed out the site during the search.
Rowan’s body was found the next morning, which was Friday, by McDonald County deputies Jake Boles and Mike Hall in the sinkhole near Powell.
According to reports, Colleen Spears last saw her daughter at about 8:30 p.m. Nov. 2 before she left for work at the Wal-Mart store in Jane.
David Spears, Collings and another man were playing pool at the Spears home in the town of Stella in southern Newton County while Rowan was asleep in her bedroom, Copeland said.
The three men decided to leave at 10:45 p.m. to take Collings home, Copeland said.
“They stopped so a man named Nathan and David could get more beer,” he said.
Copeland said Nathan reportedly dropped David Spears off at the Spears residence.
That’s where the story gets murky, Copeland said.
Authorities said David Spears has acknowledged that he went out a second time around 1:30 a.m. Nov. 3 after calling his mother, Myrna Spears, and asking to borrow her car. Myrna Spears has said she watched television and did not check on the girl. David Spears was gone for 5 1/2 hours.
Copeland said Sunday that David Spears has told investigators that he discovered Rowan missing before he called his mother.
“He said he knew Chris (Collings) would have her (Rowan),” Copeland said.
He said Spears has said that after borrowing his mother’s car, he drove to Collings’ travel trailer, where he alleged that he found Collings raping the girl.
Both men are suspected of raping and strangling the girl with a netting cord, Copeland said.
David Spears initially told investigators that he did not discover Rowan was missing until the next morning, after Colleen Spears arrived home from work.
“We had three different cadaver dogs hit on (Myrna Spears’) car,” Copeland said. “We know the body was in there at some point.”
The two defendants are expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Barry County Circuit Court. Both men were being held Sunday without bond in the Barry County Jail.
Myrna Spears said Sunday that she has not talked to her son since his arrest on Friday.
David Spears and Collings, who grew up in the Wheaton area, have been friends for about 10 years, Myrna Spears said.
She said Collings recently returned from Arkansas, where his estranged wife and two children, both younger than 10, live.
Myrna Spears said she thought she knew Collings, and never suspected that he or her son would be capable of murder and rape.
Copeland said Sunday that Spears and Collings recently had been working for a property owner on construction of a barn in McDonald County.
Neither man is listed as a registered sex offender, Copeland said.
Copeland said Collings, who lived in the travel trailer about a mile east of Wheaton, had been making a living by working odd jobs and selling scrap metal.
Services
Funeral services for Rowan Ford will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Gospel Lighthouse Church in Neosho. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Clark Funeral Home in Neosho, where the family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. A memorial fund has been established. Donations may be made at any Hometown Bank.
I will call it an “Act of God” answering the cries of an innocent’s blood spilled upon the ground.............
Thanks for the updates.
Hats off to the deputies who found Rowan. They did a great job.
Are they searching the caves for mpore bodies? There are several missing girls and women in this area.
Thanks for adding me to the ping list. This is sickening.
Interesting you should mention that. As far as I am aware, no local ladies are missing, however, we DO seem to be a dumping ground for a killer. Local authorities have kept if VERY quiet. There have been several bodies found down in the region of Bear Hollow Road, which is right on the Arkansas/Missouri border. I also met a fellow down in Maysville Ark, which is just south of the Missouri line, straddling the Ark/Okla border, a few years back. While I was at his home, he told my wife and I about three bodies which were found buried in shallow graves, heads, hands, and feet removed, and burned. This guy was VERY creepy and we have never been back.
Anyway, while local authorities have kept quiet about this, it is well known among the community that these bodies have been found.
You check crime statistics or watch TV news?
If it's the latter you don't know any such thing.
That's a classic sign of a mob hit. Those bodies are very hard to identify.
I see that Copeland is saying that the prosecuting will be done in Newton County—and that the FBI turned over the evidence to him, Sheriff Copeland.
Killed by Mothers 1,100 (55.0%)
Killed by live-in boyfriends 0513 ( 25.7%)
Killed by Stepfathers 0250 (12.5%)
Killed by Biological Fathers 0137 (6.9%)
This study demonstrates that the least dangerous place for a child after divorce is with the father by a margin of over 14 to 1 ( 2000 / 137 = 14.5985 ).
Stepfathers and live-in boyfriends are associated with the mother's household and therefore a child is 14 times more likely to be killed in the mother's care.
Excluding Stepfathers and Live-in boyfriends, mothers are 8 times as likely to kill a child than the biological father.
Its an interesting article. However since peple didn't talk about rape much years & years ago, I don't see how I could prove it. I should have worded that post differently. And said IMO its happening more & more....I am still searching for facts but we are all are sick here.
http://www.alfra.org/new/risks.asp
http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32454
The National Center for Victims of Crime - Library/Document Viewer
http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32454
The National Center for Victims of Crime - Library/Document Viewer
Seriously, You need to move!
Sorry for the double post. I don’t know why it happened as I hit post once....
The journal Pediatrics reported in 2002 that, “Children residing in households with adults unrelated to them were 8 times more likely to die of maltreatment than children in households with two biological parents. Risk of maltreatment death was elevated for children residing with step, foster, or adoptive parents.”21 It is critical to note that it is impossible for a child living in a same-sex parented family to live with both biological parents. It should deeply concern us that that child will be living in one of these family forms that increases risk of death by maltreatment. *****Research published in the journal Child Abuse and Neglect found that a girl is seven times more likely to be molested by a stepfather than a biological father. The study goes on to report that when biological fathers did molest their young daughters, a mother was not residing in the home who could protect the child. What is more, the nature of sexual abuse by stepfathers was more severe than by biological fathers.*****22 Every little boy in a male same-sex home will be living with at least one non-biological father as well as with a biological father without a protective mother present. The research says this child will be in much greater danger than a boy or girl living with a married mother and father. Another study published in the same journal reports that children living with a single biological parent is nearly twice as likely to be sexually abused compared with a child living with a married mother and father.23 Marriage is a rich personal resource for children and their parents. It protects them from poverty and sexual and physical abuse. It improves their physical and mental health. It helps them do better in every measure of educational development and ultimately go to college. It helps them stay away from violent, criminal and sexual behaviors. Marriage protects kids from substance abuse. This means teachers are not burdened with children who cause problems or have difficulty learning. Marriage protects our welfare systems by reducing the number of young adults who have dropped out of school and not working or who are having children in their teen years. Police being bothered by kids with married parents is rare. Marriage produces healthier children who do not stress our nation's medical system and insurance costs. If we are to concern ourselves with the welfare of children, we have to be concerned with the health of marriage in our culture. For, as marriage goes, so go our children – and with them – the future of humanity. Glenn T. Stanton is Director of global insights and trends, and Senior Analyst for marriage and sexuality at Focus on the Family.
http://www.family.org/socialissues/A000001127.cfm
There is some miss-information (Maybe typos) in that-—
Some sentences should read ‘Sometimes’....
For example, “The study goes on to report that when biological fathers did molest their young daughters, a mother was not residing in the home who could protect the child.” Is totally false without that qualifier. I think the stats are that the mother is more likely to be in the home when the daughter is being molested.
Other stats—
More than 60 million adult survivors of incest and sexual child abuse live in America. *Note these are only reported cases. It is believed as great as 50% of sexual child abuse is unreported. Forward, 1993
99% of sexual abuse survivors know their perpetrators.
80% are abused by family members,
19% are abuse by other trusted adults. CCPA, 1992
Of 50 male sexual abuse survivors, many were as young as 8 years old. FBI Uniform Crime Report, 1991..
A study of 10,000 female children under age 18 raped in 1992, reports that 3,800 girls were under 12 years old. U.S. Justice Department, study conducted in 11 states and the District of Columbia, June 1994.
Of teenage, unwed mothers, 60-67% were incest survivors. Los Angeles Times survey, 1993
96% of teenage prostitutes were sexually molested in childhood. CCPA, 1992.
Almost 80% had become prostitutes before age 18. Ibid. *60% of prostitutes were 16 or under; many were younger than 13. Ibid.
Over 80% of the mothers of incest survivors were also sexually abused.
57% of sexual child abuse and incest perpetrators are survivors of sexual child abuse. Goldstein-Harte Study 1973: Carter, et al.
A sexual child abuse perpetrator (a.k.a. sex offender) abuses an average of 117 children. National Institute of Mental Health, 1988.
Hi Najida, thanks for pointing that out!
if you missed it, here’s another article about this case...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1925903/posts
It is a small town and I have lived here for 3o+ years. The local rag has made these things front and center from since long before I was here. It is a LOCAL paper. I am sure you know all about it, though, folks like you know a lot more about Skunk Holler Ark then the local folks do. All you have to do is look at a town’s population and that tells you everything like it does for bureaucrats and things.
Thank you for the update. Is it a good thing that the case will be prosecuted in Newton County, in your opinion?
I do not know much about the prosecutors in Newton or Barry county. However, I have little doubt that either one would be better than McDonald County with the prosecutor we currently have. I kid ya not, just about ANYWHERE would be better than here.
I have no doubt whatsoever that if this were to somehow get dropped in our prosecutors lap, a plea deal would be made and there would never be a trial.
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