Story Created:
May 6, 2008 at 4:19 PM CDT
Story Updated:
May 6, 2008 at 4:19 PM CDT
CASSVILLE, Mo. (AP) - Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for two men charged in the rape and murder of a 9-year-old
southwest Missouri girl.
Barry County prosecutor Johnnie Cox filed notice with the court Monday that he plans to seek the death penalty for David Spears and Chris Collings. Spears was Rowan Ford's stepfather, and Collings
was his friend.
Both men have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, forcible rape and statutory rape.
Rowan disappeared from her home in the small town of Stella in November. Her body was found days later in a cave.
Prosecutors say both men have confessed to the crime, but authorities are trying to reconcile discrepancies between their
accounts.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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