Mo. Man Who Killed, Sexually Assaulted 9-Year-Old Girl Is Executed

Christopher Collings, a Missouri death row inmate convicted of sexually assaulting and killing a 9-year-old girl, was executed as scheduled on Tuesday, Dec. 3.

Collings, 49, died by lethal injection on Tuesday at the state prison in Bonne Terre, Mo., for the 2007 killing of 9-year-old Rowan Ford, according to The Associated Press, KSDK and The Kansas City Star. He was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. CST, reports KSDK and the Star, citing officials.

“Right or wrong I accept this situation for what it is,” Collings wrote in his last statement. “To anyone that I have hurt in this life I am sorry. I hope that you are able to get closure and move on. Regardless which side of this situation that you are on. You are in my prayers and I hope to see you in heaven one day.”

Earlier this week, Missouri Gov. Mike Parsons said in a statement that the state would carry out the execution as planned, after the state’s top court denied an appeal filed by Collings’ attorney, the Associated Press reported. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-minute request to hear his appeal.

“Mr. Collings has received every protection afforded by the Missouri and United States Constitutions, and Mr. Collings’ conviction and sentence remain for his horrendous and callous crime,” Parson said. “The State of Missouri will carry out Mr. Collings’ sentence according to the Court’s order and deliver justice.”

Collings kidnapped, raped, and murdered Ford in November 2007 before throwing the girl’s body in a sinkhole near Powell, Mo, according to a statement from Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey.

“Collings also burned the rope he used to strangle the victim, the blood-stained clothing he wore during the attack, and his blood-stained mattress,” the statement added. Collings ultimately confessed to police and was found guilty of first-degree murder.

According to the AP, authorities said Collings and Ford knew each other since he had lived with her and her family for several months, with Ford referring to him as “Uncle Chris.”

Ford’s stepfather, David Spears, also implicated himself by admitting to sexually assaulting and killing the girl, while Collings denied Spears had anything to do with the crime, CBS News reported, citing authorities. Spears spent over seven years in prison after pleading guilty to a lesser charge, per the outlet.

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In Collings’ clemency petition, attorneys argued that the convicted murderer had a brain abnormality that caused “functional deficits in awareness, judgment and deliberation, comportment, appropriate social inhibition, and emotional regulation,” the AP reported. It also claimed Collings was a victim of childhood abuse.

According to the AP, Collings was the 23rd person killed by execution in the U.S. this year.