November the 9th 2007 Missouri a search for a missing child had been going on for the last few days a 9-year-old girl had gone missing from her bedroom on the 3rd of November and the small community of Stella where she had vanished from was frantic with worry All Leads were going nowhere and nobody knew where she was or what had happened that was until a tip came in the officers were told to head over to Fox Cave in McDonald County Fox Cave was described as being more of a sinkhole than a cave it was roughly 30 ft away from the road and in a densely wooded area deputies Mike Hall and Jake BS headed over to conduct a search and 20 ft below ground they found something on a Ledge a child's body Stella Missouri had a population of less than 200 people one of those who called it home was Rowan Ford 9-year-old Rowan was born on the 11th of April 1998 she was in the fourth grade and was hardworking and happy she loved to read and draw and would spend time outside on her bike she also loved going to church and would often get up early to help the pastor set up she'd always be sitting smiling on the steps when he arrived she went to Sunday school and was also part of the Angel Food Ministries she adored Barbie in her pink bedroom reflected that love too but it wasn't always easy for Roman she often had Li her hair would be matted and she sometimes went to school without socks despite the freezing temperatures of Missouri's Winters in spite of this she was an extremely hardworking student whom teachers loved having in their class she always tried her best even with subjects she found challenging like mathematics for example one teacher said she was just a little ray of sunshine just the sweetest girl you would ever meet Rowan was the youngest of five children she was shy and would sometimes hide behind her older sister but when she opened up it's like the whole room lit up her sister said Rowan she was something very speci special there was nobody that did not like her she lived with her mother 44-year-old Colleen and her stepfather David Spears who was 25 years old David was not only a stepfather but a father too in 2005 he had been ordered to pay $29 in child support but it was unclear if he saw his child Colleen worked at Walmart and when she arrived home ran would always be waiting to greet her running out into the driveway to find out how her shift had gone but on the 3rd of November 2007 seven Rowan wasn't there Colleen headed inside perhaps Rowan was in her bedroom absorbed in a book which she often was but she wasn't there either she wasn't inside the property she asked her husband David who had been asleep on the sofa where she was he said she was at a friend's house he didn't know which friend though Colleen wanted to notify the police immediately but David insisted she was at a friend's house as Colleen sat with David for a few hours and waited for a phone call someone telling her that she was was there the silence was deafening the call wasn't coming they then started searching the local area but she was nowhere to be found Rowan was officially reported as a missing person at 6:50 p. m. an amber alert was issued and an enormous search was quickly underway with many and Stella coming out to help the community turned out in their droves to look for her whenever a child goes missing every second counts and time was ticking if they were going to find Rowan the first thing they needed to do was understand where she was the previous night who she had been with and crucially who had been the last person or persons to see her her mother had been working the overnight shift at Walmart so Rowan had been in the care of her stepfather David David told the investigators that he had gone out with his friends Christopher and Nathan on the night of November the 2nd he had left her there on her own as she was sleeping on her bedroom floor he said that he had got home at around midnight but didn't check on Rowan but this story would later change he told investigators he had actually gone out for a second time at around 1:30 a.
m. he had called his mom and asked if he could borrow her sport utility vehicle his mom said that she watched television while she waited for him to get back she didn't check on Rowan for the authorities one thing wasn't sitting right David was not being cooperative and explaining where he had been that night and why he had been gone for hours he said it was wrong of him to leave her alone and that he had initially not told investigators this as he was worried that they would think he was involved he didn't report her missing until 8 or 10 hours after she was gone which we thought was extremely strange said Newton County Sheriff Chris Jennings his story changed several times we caught him in several lies to get a better picture of what had happened they needed to talk to Nathan and Christopher to see if their stories matched the investigator spoke to Nathan and he said the three of them him Christopher and David had met at a farm where they were working that night they had headed over to a liquor store and then went home to play pool Colleen had gone to work at around 8:30 p. m.
and as the evening carried on Christopher asked Nathan to drive him home and David went with them leaving Rowan alone at the property when they got to Christopher's trailer they continued to drink as they had bought more alcohol on the way there and they also smoked marijuana around an hour later Nathan and David left to head home and Nathan took the back roads instead of going on the highway he didn't want to be stopped by the police and be caught driving Under the Influence Nathan dropped David and then was back home by midnight on the 4th of November the following day David's friend Christopher Collings whom he had been with on the night row and was last seen spoke to deputies and told them the same thing that Nathan had but he left out the part about them smoking marijuana he said he had remained in his trailer and went to sleep he hadn't spoken to David and he had no idea that Rowan was missing the following day the FBI came on board to help with the investigation and the community of Stella carried on looking for her dozens of officers from three separate counties worked alongside 50 Specialists the Missouri State Highway Patrol and FBI agents in the search for her while deputies continued talking to David technicians from the FBI seized his vehicle and his mother's vehicle as he had borrowed it from her that night at the same time deputies from Newton County went to Christopher's work and asked if he could answer some more questions he agreed and drove to the Sheriff's Office he also agreed to do a polygraph test and a computer voice stress analysis A cvsa A system that analyzes one's voice in an attempt to ascertain as to whether or not they are being Tre truthful he maintained he didn't know anything about where Rowan was and offered to help look for her that afternoon weaton chief of police Clinton Clark was out in weaton as part of a routine Patrol Chief Clark had known Christopher for 17 years Christopher trusted him and would turn to him for help and support including when his mother passed away Christopher flagged him down and told him that Rowan had disappeared and he was helping in the search for her Chief Clark said that Christopher was not his normal self and was kind of excited following ing this Chief Clark told the FBI that Christopher had spoken to him about Rowan going missing he was of the belief that Christopher knew something he said he would help in any way he could and the FBI asked him to continue talking to Christopher Christopher would also tell the FBI that he believed David was involved in Rowan's disappearance and offered to wear a wire to Aid in the investigation he even gave suggestions as to where they should look for Roman her disappearance had hit this small community extremely hard and had understandably left many scared and confused a teacher from the school Tammy Marshall recalled the last day she saw Rowan the day she vanished she noticed that Rowan's hair was in need of brushing so they spent 30 minutes before class brushing her hair and putting it into a neat ponytail later on in the day Tammy went looking for ran to see if her hair was still okay she was by herself and she just went skipping by she looked so happy as she skipped by me like everything was great with her David Christopher and Nathan were considered Persons of Interest as they were the last people to see her Christopher was described as Cooperative concerned and polite by the investigators later that evening he went to see Colleen to see how the search was going and to offer his help David and Christopher were longtime friends that year Christopher had actually moved in with the family for a few months living in their basement he would help BR with her schoolwork and she even called him Uncle Chris Christopher was also a father he had three children under the age of 10 and they lived with their mother in Arkansas in October October 2007 Christopher moved to his family's farm and lived on the property in a trailer the 6th of November 3 days since Rome was reported missing the focus of the investigation was now on David Spears he had been interviewed several times and the house had been searched by early evening Christopher had gone to Chief Clark's office to tell him that he had been spoken to by the FBI and had given them ideas of places to Look chief Chief Clark believed that Christopher had something on his mind and said that he appeared to be apprehensive Christopher wouldn't meet his eyes which was very unusual Chief Clark got in touch with the FBI and told him about the conversation the FBI thought that if Christopher was involved and needed to confess he would likely do it to Chief Clark so they encouraged him to help in the investigation and chief Clark agreed on the 7th of November Christopher went to the Newton County Sheriff's Department to meet with the FBI and he agreed to give a swap for DNA test ing he also agreed to have his home and a saf he had at David's Home searched he told the FBI that an alibi that David had given for the night Rowan went missing was not true as the interview carried on Christopher continued to become increasingly nervous and emotional when asked about the missing child he told the agents that he would not be prepared to talk to them anymore if they were going to accuse him of being involved in her going missing and with that the interview ended that evening he went to see Chief Clark and was very upset about the interview he said he was going to Dum me up about anything else and added that he might need to get a lawyer Chief Clark explained to him that he was well within his rights to do that but added that Christopher should do anything to help find Rowan it wasn't in his interest to stop cooperating with the investigation Christopher told him if I have anything else to say I'll talk to you Chief clerk knew how important it was to follow all procedures so was sure to remind him of his Miranda rights Christopher signed a waiver form and continued to talk Chief Clark explained he felt Christopher had something on his mind and asked if he knew anything about what had happened to Rowan Christopher suddenly started to cry he said he would not have done anything to hurt her and that he loved her at this point in the conversation someone came in and interrupted it Christopher got up quickly and left Chief Clark again let the FBI know about what had happened and said he thought that Christopher was reaching his breaking point he believed he was going to get a lawyer soon the following day Chief Clark spoke in more depth to the FBI about about Christopher Collings his family life and his relationship with him he said he thought Christopher knew something about what had happened but thought they would need to find her body first the FBI explained that when Rowan's body was found they wanted him to be the person who talked to Christopher and the next day a major break would come in that would confirm the worst fears of all involved David and Christopher had both worked for the Newton County coroner Mark bridges in the coroner's Automotive of business Chris was a mechanic and David could do a little mechanic work and worked in sales Bridges said he was a jack of all trades so to speak Mark was on duty the day she was reported missing and said this was when David had first contacted him I guess he first thought I used to be the sheriff and could help he said David kept telling me maybe she's at a friend's house Mark said he spent the 8th of November with David looking for Rowan the FBI had him wired up and also had a plane flying overhead that was following them he took David out and tried to find where she was he asked David to play Devil's Advocate as if Christopher was responsible for whatever had happened I said I would suspect Chris might be involved with this and if you were Chris what would you do with Roman's body and he thought a minute I said let's go look let's go look some places so we went and looked and the first place he took me to was the hole in the ground what was the hole in the ground Fox Cave I saw some items that brought some suspicions to me Mark said I wasn't sure what they were were David and I had a conversation about it at the time I definitely wanted to search the cave and I think subconsciously that David did too he took me to the cave for a reason the FBI then got in touch with the McDonald County Sheriff's department and on the 9th of November at roughly 8:00 a. m. deputies Mike Hall and Jake BS headed over to conduct a search 20 ft below ground they found a body on a Ledge a child's body I wasn't there when the body was discovered but I don't think any anyone had any question that it was a homicide said Newton County Sheriff Chris Jennings when the autopsy results came back it confirmed that Rowan had been raped she had died as a result of strangulation her body had signs of decomposition and small scrapes and bruises that had been inflicted prior to her death there were also significant injuries to her face that had likely been caused by being thrown into the sinkhole when Chief Clark tuned into the news on the 9th of November he heard that Rowan's body had been discovered he then heard from his office that Christopher had been there and wanted to talk to him Chief Clark immediately got in touch with the FBI who told him to find Christopher and tell him that they had found Rowan but Chief Clark couldn't find him then his phone rang it was the man he was looking for he asked if law enforcement were following him in a gray minivan and chief Clark told him he didn't know anything about surveillance Christopher explained that he was feeling threatened and nervous and had been driving all over the area trying to shake it he was told by Chief Clark to go to the police department but Christopher wanted to meet him when they met he agreed to go with Chief Clark in his patrol car to the police department well son it's over we found Ran's body this morning as those words echoed in his ears Christopher's eyes welled up and his head dropped the chief thought that David had done something and Christopher knew what it was he implored him to tell the truth Christopher looked at him surprised with all the people in the department Christopher didn't want to speak with other people around so they headed to Muny Bridge just a few miles outside of weaton Chief Clark made sure to tell law enforcement where they were going when they got to the bridge Christopher put his hands out waiting to be handcuffed he was told that wasn't necessary and he replied for what I'm about to tell you you will as they sat on the slope by the bridge Christopher told the same story he had done over the previous week up until Nathan and David left his trailer he said that yes they had used the back roads to avoid being caught drunk driving he said he knew if he was quick he could go over to Rowen and get her out of there before Nathan and David got back driving down the highway as this was the quickest route he was soon at the property he entered used the bathroom and then went into Rowan's bedroom he picked her up off the floor and then carried her outside as she slept putting her into his truck she was still asleep when they got to his trailer he took her inside not speaking in case she recognized his voice after raping her he said he was going to take Roman home holding her arms and having her face away from him as she walked so as not to see him but she looked over her shoulder and saw his face she knew it was him the man who used to help her with her homework the man she called Uncle Chris he said he freaked out and in a pickup truck near the property there was some rope in there he used this to St strangle Rowan Ford to death he said he knew that he was in a lot of trouble and put her body into the bed of his truck he said he planned to dump her body off the myy bridge but decided against it fearing she would be quickly found there he drove around thinking of where to dispose of her body and he eventually settled on Fox Cave he threw her body into the sink hole and tried to cover the entrance to the hole with branches but it was too big he then drove home when he arrived he found blood on his clothes and his mattress he took her pajama bottle underwear and rope along with his clothes and put them into a wood stove to burn them and destroy the evidence he rolled up the mattress and shoved it into a drum I got to thinking now that's going to make a hell of a fire somebody's going to see that burning he said he then moved the drum to the barn and set it a light it was an absolutely horrifying story and knowing now how much Rowan had suffered made a dark situation even worse to think about Chief Clark went with Christopher back to the police department so that the other law enforcement officials could hear his statement he was again read his rights and he repeated his story to the deputies from Barry County and Newton County who were there with the FBI he also executed consent to allow his property to be searched he was then taken to Barry County Sheriff's Department where he gave his statement again this time it was videotaped he added that he had cried like a baby all afternoon and was remorseful the officers were surprised to hear this confession as they believed that David had killed killed Rowan and that Christopher knew about it knowing what they knew now they spoke to David again and this time he implicated himself adding another confusing layer David said he came in checked in Rowan's room and found she was gone Copeland said he said he knew Chris had gotten her and taken her to his house he got there and Chris was raping her he raped her too then they thought they would be in trouble so they killed her and threw her in a hole he originally stated he was driving around now we know they were hauling her body off from the crime scene Davis said in his interview with the police that Christopher had handed him the rope and he had killed Rowan I choke her with it I realize she's gone she's she's really gone he said according to the transcript they talked to Christopher again and explained what David had said but Christopher was adamant David had not been involved at any point during the crime or the aftermath two people both admitting to being involved but one denying that the other had anything to do with it this complex case was just getting more confusing partly based on what Christopher had said the affidavit Barry County Sheriff Mick epy sent to the prosecutor said that both had assaulted her but it was not clear who had strangled her David Spears and Christopher Collings were each charged with statutary rape forcible rape and first-degree murder epy said that he expected prosecutors to file a charge of kidnapping against Christopher but not David as he was her legal guardian both were held without bond in the Barry County Jail m David's mother would later talk to her son as he sat in jail and he again said that he had taken part in the crime saying he had blacked out in his memories of what had happened had only just started coming back he's my one and only Mna said tearing up he's all torn up he really did love her Christopher's brother Greg said he didn't believe it I don't believe he could do something like this he's got three kids of his own the two appeared in court in cville in Barry County Missouri the two were arrested on Monday 3 days after Rowan Ford's body was found about 10 miles from her home according to investigators both men have admitted taking part in the crime but today in court entered pleas of not guilty today Spears and Collins were heavily guarded wearing both wrist and leg shackles Ford's mother Colleen Spears was also in court today joined by several family members while many in the community of Stella continue to grieve and hope for justice they did not attend court proceedings proceedings this morning I wanted to but my heart wouldn't let me I didn't want to go over there and look at those two on the 27th of November Colleen filed for divorce from David Bill also the village mayor said she was too upset to speak to the media she's numb she's trying to keep herself busy she's in there right now on the sewing machine sewing something for her baby's funeral the morning before her funeral those from Rowan's School planted a pink dogwood tree in her memory and balloons were released with notes attached to them from her classmates an angel was also placed there marking her birthday and the day she was found more than 300 people attended her funeral at Gospel Lighthouse church and her favorite hymn The Old Rugged Cross was sung the pastor urged those to put their hate and anger aside in the wake of Roman's death David Spears and Christopher Collings would enter pleas of not guilty Christopher was bound over for trial meaning that the court found there was probable cause and the matter was transferred to the trial court due to the publicity and the intense media scrutiny David's lawyers requested that the trial be moved out of Barry County to palaski County instead and this was granted as he and Christopher were being tried separately this meant that the court could be changed with a case as complex as this it would be a few years before they would head to trial then came some breaking news after conversations and consultation with the Attorney General's office and following new evidence from an independent lab the charges of statutary rape forcible rape and first-degree murder against David Spears were dropped a plea deal was reached with the Barry County Prosecuting Attorney Johnny Cox and David was sentenced to four years for hindering prosecution and seven years for endangering the welfare of a child both sentences were the maximum allowed for each offense the prosecuting attorney said that it was not an easy decision referencing that David had spoken about being involved in the rape and murder soon after his initial arrest this case has almost consumed the resources of my office for the last 4 years and 10 months over the course of that time his case has been pending evidence other than his statement has been pursued to be used to prove David Spears was involved in the rape and murder of Rowan Ford during that time no additional evidence implicating MrSpears has been developed he said that the analysis and testing of evidence did not implicate David and the results were not consistent with his original statement this evidence included a rape test kit which was taken during the autopsy and then analyzed by the State Police lab and the FBI lab and then later the independent lab the results from the independent lab were consistent with Christopher's account of what had happened that night Cox also noted that there were inconsistencies with David's statement that he had strangled Rowan the lack of physical evidence that would be able to be used in court has created serious concerns and uncertainty about the statement David Spears gave to law enforcement he said Christopher had always denied that anyone else was involved in Rowan's murder and he had said this during his first interview and his last interview during every statement made to law enforcement Christopher Collings admitted he had strangled Rowan Ford Cox said Cox was concerned about having to argue that Christopher's statement was an accurate representation of what had happened that night whilst also having to present David's account and argue that was true when they contradicted each other in the ways that they did another worry was that it could have created a way for David's case to be overturned if he was convicted of the more serious offenses and also paved the way for Christopher's case to be overturned too Cox said that neither outcome was acceptable to the state this type of crime should outrage everyone he said I was outraged when I first heard about it however as a prosecutor I am a Minister of Justice and must do what the law requires what the facts require and what fairness and Justice require Sheriff Robert M Evanson believed that Cox had made the right choice there was no physical evidence that would have supported convicting David Spears he said so as hard as it was for the prosecuting attorney he did what he had to do adding he swore he acted alone the evidence indicated Collings was the perpetrator Spears's confession was similar but there was several inconsistencies with the evidence suggesting Collings committed it but it still left questions unanswered as Evanson said why would someone confess to such a horrible crime that's the question the public has and there's no good explanation for that I agree with the prosecutor's decision I I really questioned whether he was ever guilty I knew the case was going to be horrible he could have gotten [Music] acquitted Christopher Collings would later file a motion to suppress which aimed to exclude evidence from all of his statements taken by the investigators during the investigation and the evidence taken from his property trailer truck and body he was overruled the trial of Christopher Collings would last for a week during his trial his lawyers said that Christopher had many problems and was unable to form emotional attachments to people due to severe neglect from his parents and Trauma from being in foster care Christopher was the youngest of six children and all of them would end up in the foster care system due to their parents criminal activities and substance abuse issues he would later go on to become a father but his issues with drugs and alcohol would cause massive problems his trial lawyers told the court that he had never intended to kill Rowan and asked the jury to set aside the Terrible crime scene in autopsy photos and Rowan's age and focus on the law and the facts which they said showed that this had not been [Music] planned took her back outside still no clothing on from the way down how painful would that injury have been very painful one of the people that the court would hear from was Colleen Rowan's Mother after you learned she had been killed what kind of impact did that have on you at the time asked the prosecutor totally devastated myself and my other children she replied Rowan's sister said that when she heard she had been murdered she collapsed to the floor saying that everybody in the family went into a deep depression finally this traumatic trial had reached its end and on the 20th of March the jury returned their verdict we the jury find the defendant Christopher caring was guilty of murder in the first degree as this was a casee where the death penalty was on the table the penalty phase was going to be crucial during the penalty phase of the proceedings the state presented six Victim Impact statements from Witnesses Christopher's team presented two witnesses who testified about David being potentially involved in Roman's murder an expert in human development also stated that he had been severely emotionally neglected during the first 6 months of his life which had stunted his development the experts said that Christopher had a confusion in how he connected with other people which resulted in a diagnosis of severe disorganized associative attachment disorder and Intermittent Explosive personality disorders after the penalty phase was concluded the jury recommended a death sentence what followed was a series of appeals on July 23rd 2012 Christopher's lawyers filed a notice of appeal of the death penalty with the Missouri Supreme Court appeals such as these are automatic under Missouri law when dealing with a capital punishment case his appeal was denied in 2014 Christopher appealed against his sentence again and tried to get it reduced to life in prison this was rejected Christoper filed a RIT of habus Corpus with the Missouri Supreme Court if this was granted it would allow him to present evidence that the government didn't disclose that one of their primary Witnesses had a criminal record Wheaten Chief Clinton Clark which he had received when he was serving in Vietnam the prosecution said that if Chief Clark's record was disclosed this would not have changed the outcome as the appeals continued what had happened to David Spears he had served more than seven years in custody and was released in 2015 shortly after his release from prison but not before the end of his probation he was hired by his trial attorney's husband and worked at the Missouri state public defender office he would work there for a year and 8 months before the end of his probation the public defender office had served counsil for both Christopher and David Christopher's lawyers argued that because David had worked for the public defender office this had created a conflict of interest and prevented their client from pleading guilty to lesser charges in their pleadings his lawyer said that a potential conflict existed however because of their divided loyalties or fear of MrCollins's response to the conflict Council failed to alert the court or alert MrCollings of the conflict because of this non-disclosure MrCollings himself was not aware of the claim until after his postconviction proceedings had concluded a clemency petition was submitted for Christopher which argued he suffered from a brain abnormality which led to functional deficits in Awareness judgment and deliberation adding that he had also been sexually abused as a child the result was a damaged human being with no guidance on how to grow into a functioning adult the petition said the clemency petition said that David Spears had implicated himself and the transcript of his statement to the police said that he had told the police that Christopher had given him the rope and he had taken Roman's life the Missouri Supreme Court sets an execution date for a man accused of raping and murdering a 9-year-old girl in Southwest Missouri in 2012 a jury convicted Christopher Collings of the 2007 abduction rape and murder of Rowan Ford of Stella Missouri investigators say cins threw Ford's body into a sinkhole in McDonald County the Supreme Court today set his execution for December 3rd Christopher Collings fate was sealed when the United State Supreme Court denied his appeal and Governor Mike Parson turned down his clemency request Parson had used to be a sheriff and had overseen 12 executions he had never granted clemency Christopher was said to be put to death on the 3rd of December 2024 VI an injection of the sedative Penta barbital several people who had worked on investigating the crime including Newton County Sheriff Chris Jennings he said he felt the impending execution was a long time coming I was hoping the state would come while I was still in office I put in a request to attend the execution I felt like it was the right thing to do for Rowan he also said that there would never be complete Justice for her I'd like to have seen more done and some of the rest of the prosecution but this is how it came out it's been a long time coming I'm glad to finally see the date set December 3rd 201 24 the day of Christopher's execution had arrived at 554 the execution Witnesses were moved into place these included four members of his legal team four members of the media eight Witnesses from the state and two representatives for Rowan's family at 600 p.
m.
