Murder of Rowan Ford

On November 3, 2007, nine-year-old Rowan Damia Ford went missing from her home in Stella, Missouri, while sleeping in her bedroom. Her mother, Colleen Munson, reported her missing, prompting a large-scale search involving local police and the FBI. Six days later, Ford's body was discovered inside a cave in a rural part of McDonald County, Missouri. She was found nude from the waist down, wearing only one sock, covered with leaves and debris, and in an advanced state of decomposition. An autopsy determined she had been raped and died of strangulation, with a ligature mark visible around her neck.

Police investigations led to the arrest of two men: Christopher Leroy Collings, a family friend who had lived with Ford's family earlier that year and whom Ford called "Uncle Chris," and David Wesley Spears, Ford's stepfather. Both men confessed to roles in the crime. According to those confessions, Collings abducted Ford, took her to his trailer, raped her, and then strangled her with rope after she saw his face. Spears admitted to helping dispose of the body and had reported Ford missing while suggesting she might be at a friend's house; his behavior during the search led investigators to name him as a suspect, and he later led authorities to where the body was found.

Both men were charged with first-degree murder, forcible rape, and statutory rape, and prosecutors initially sought the death penalty against both. The cases were tried separately due to publicity, with Collings tried in Phelps County and Spears in Barry County. On March 20, 2012, a jury found Collings guilty of first-degree murder, and on March 23, 2012, sentenced him to death after finding the murder was committed to prevent Ford from serving as a witness. In September 2012, prosecutors withdrew the murder charge against Spears after determining his role was minor compared to Collings; Spears pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child and covering up the crime, receiving an 11-year sentence. He was released in 2015 and later worked for the state's public defender office.

Collings pursued appeals through the Missouri Supreme Court, federal district court, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court, all of which were rejected between 2014 and 2024. In April 2024, Missouri's Attorney General sought a death warrant, which the Missouri Supreme Court approved in August 2024, scheduling execution for December 3, 2024. Clemency requests, including from the Missouri Catholic Conference, were denied by Governor Mike Parson, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a final appeal on December 2, 2024. Collings was executed by lethal injection the following day, expressing remorse in his final statement.