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Rowan Ford Case

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January 23, 2008

Man bound over for trial

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Wed Jan 23, 2008, 02:03 PM CST

By Derek Spellman

dspellman@joplinglobe.com

CASSVILLE, Mo. — A Wheaton man accused of raping and killing a 9-year-old Stella girl was bound over to circuit court Friday after waiving his preliminary hearing.

Chris Collings, 32, will stand trial for one count of first-degree murder, forcible rape and statutory rape in connection with the abduction, alleged sexual assault and murder of Rowan Ford last month.

Collings waived his preliminary hearing after appearing before Judge Victor Head with his public defender, Clate Baker, said Barry County Prosecutor Johnnie Cox. Collings’ court appearance on Friday was his first since his initial arraignment on Nov. 13.

Ford’s stepfather, David W. Spears, 25, is also charged with one count of first-degree murder, forcible rape and statutory rape in connection with the Ford case.

Spears’ case remains in Barry County Associate Court, and his next hearing date is still to be set, Cox said.

Investigators believe Rowan Ford was abducted early Nov. 3 from her home in Stella in Newton County, murdered in Barry County, and her body disposed of in McDonald County.

Ford’s body was found in a sinkhole after a nearly weeklong search that involved the Newton County Sheriff’s Department, the McDonald County Sheriff’s Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the FBI.

Authorities still are trying to reconcile discrepancies between the two defendants’ accounts of the events leading to Rowan’s death. Both David Spears and Collings reportedly have confessed to rape and murder.

Colleen Spears, David Spears’ wife and Rowan Ford’s mother, filed for divorce on Nov. 27. That case, too, is pending.



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Chris Collings will appear for his arraignment in Barry County Circuit Court at 10 a.m. on Jan. 22.

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Rowan Ford Case

• Chris Collings’ father: ‘No matter what happens, I love my son’

  The birth father of Chris Collings took the witness stand this morning in the penalty phase of his son’s murder trial.

  March 22, 2012 1 Photo

• Jurors to receive instructions on Chris Collings murder case

  Final jury instructions and closing arguments in the Chris Collings murder trial are set to begin at 3 p.m. today. That means the case could go to jury by the end of day.

  March 20, 2012 1 Photo

• State rests in Rowan Ford murder case

  The prosecution in the Chris Collings murder trial rested its case this morning, after presenting a final trace evidence witness.

  March 20, 2012 1 Photo

• Judge allows autopsy photos in Rowan Ford murder trial

  The forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on 9-year old Rowan Ford, four and half years ago, testified Monday at Chris Collings trial on Monday that her body had a number of injuries sustained both before and after her death.

  March 19, 2012 1 Photo

• Videotape confession presented in Rowan Ford case

  Prosecutors in Chris Collings’ murder trial this morning played the first of two videotaped confessions the defendant provided investigators on Nov. 9, 2007, seven days after the abduction, rape and murder of 9-year-old Rowan Ford.

  March 16, 2012 1 Photo

• Wheaton police chief testifies in Rowan Ford murder trial

  Chris Collings initially thought he would throw Rowan Ford’s body off the Muncie Bridge before deciding instead to dispose of her at Fox Cave in McDonald County, the Wheaton police chief testified today.

  March 15, 2012 1 Photo

• Newton County investigators take stand during murder trial

  The Chris Collings murder trial moved into its second day today with prosecutors calling law enforcement officers to make their case that Collings abducted 9 year-old Rowan Ford on the night of Nov. 2, 2007, took her to his home in Barry County, raped and killed her.

  March 13, 2012 1 Photo

• Prosecutor wants death penalty for Stella girl’s accused killers CASSVILLE, Mo. — Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty for David Spears and Chris Collings, charged in the rape and murder of 9-year-old Rowan Ford last November.

  May 6, 2008

• Defendants in girl’s death seeking changes of venue CASSVILLE, Mo. — The two men charged with the rape and murder of a 9-year-old Stella girl last year have requested changes of venue, according to court records.

  January 29, 2008

• Man bound over for trial CASSVILLE, Mo. — A Wheaton man accused of raping and killing a 9-year-old Stella girl was bound over to circuit court Friday after waiving his preliminary hearing.
  
  Chris Collings, 32, will stand trial for one count of first-degree murder, forcible rape and statutory rape in connection with the abduction, alleged sexual assault and murder of Rowan Ford last month.

  January 23, 2008 1 Photo

• More Rowan Ford Case Headlines

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