Missouri
Missouri man facing execution in the sexual assault and strangling of a 9-year-old girl
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri man is scheduled to be put to death Tuesday evening for sexually assaulting and strangling a 9-year-old girl whose body was thrown into a sinkhole.
Christopher Collings, 49, is set to receive a single injection of the sedative pentobarbital at 6 p.m. CST for the 2007 murder of fourth-grader Rowan Ford.
The girl was assaulted and strangled with a length of rope in the tiny southwestern Missouri town of Stella, on Nov. 3, 2007, and her body was discovered six days later in the sinkhole outside town.
Collings’ fate appeared to be sealed on Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal and Republican Gov. Mike Parson turned aside a clemency request. Parson, a former sheriff, has overseen 12 previous executions and never granted clemency.
Collings’ execution would be the 23rd in the U.S. this year and the fourth in Missouri — Brian Dorsey was executed on April 9, David Hosier on June 11 and Marcellus Williams on Sept. 24. Only Alabama with six and Texas with five have performed more executions in 2024.
Rowan was a fourth-grader described by teachers at Collings’ trial as a hard-working and happy student, a lover of Barbie dolls who had her room painted pink. Collings was a friend of Rowan’s stepfather, David Spears, and lived for several months in 2007 at the home Rowan shared with Spears and Rowan’s mother, Colleen Spears. The child called Collings “Uncle Chris.”
Collings told authorities that he drank heavily and smoked marijuana with Spears and another man in the hours before the attack on Rowan, according to court records. Collings said he picked up the still-sleeping child from her bed, took her to the camper where he lived, and assaulted her there.
Collings told police that he planned to take Rowan back home, leading her outside the camper facing away from him so that she couldn’t identify who assaulted her. But when moonlight lit up the darkness, Rowan was able to see him, Collings told police. He said he “freaked out,” grabbed a rope from a nearby pickup truck and killed her.
Colleen Spears returned home from work at 9 a.m. on Nov. 3 and was alarmed when she couldn’t find Rowan. Court records said Spears insisted Rowan was at a friend’s house. But when Rowan failed to return home by the afternoon, Colleen Spears called police, prompting a massive search.
Collings, Spears and a third man became the focus of police attention because they were the last people seen at Rowan’s home. Collings told police that after killing Rowan, he took the body to a sinkhole. He burned the rope used in the attack, along with the clothes he was wearing and his bloodstained mattress, prosecutors said.
Court documents and the clemency petition said Spears also implicated himself in the crimes. A transcript of Spears’ statement to police, cited in the clemency petition, said Spears told officers that Collings handed him a cord and Spears killed Rowan.
“I choke her with it. I realize she’s gone. She’s … she’s really gone,” Spears said, according to the transcript. Meanwhile, court documents said it was Spears who led authorities to the sinkhole where the body was found.
But Spears was allowed to plead to lesser charges. It wasn’t clear why. Prosecutors at the original trial didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.
Spears served more than seven years in prison before being released in 2015. No phone listing could be found for Spears.
The clemency petition said Collings suffered from a brain abnormality that created “functional deficits in awareness, judgment and deliberation, comportment, appropriate social inhibition, and emotional regulation.” It also noted that he was frequently abused and 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 stated.
The clemency petition and the Supreme Court appeal both challenged the reliability of the key law enforcement witness at Collings’ trial, a police chief from a neighboring town who had four AWOL convictions while serving in the Army. Failure to disclose details about that criminal history at trial violated Collings’ right to due process, Collings’ attorney, Jeremy Weis, contended.
“His credibility was really at the heart of the entire case against Mr. Collings,” Weis said in an interview.
The 2025 Missouri high school football playoffs conclude on Saturday, December 6, with seven games in the State Finals.
High School On SI has brackets for every classification and division in the Missouri high school playoffs.
CLASS 8 MAN BRACKET (select to view bracket)
State Final
Archie vs. Rock Port – 12/4 at 7 p.m.
CLASS 1 BRACKET (select to view bracket)
State Final
Putnam County vs. Tipton – 12/5 at 3 p.m.
CLASS 2 BRACKET (select to view bracket)
State Final
Blair Oaks vs. St. Pius X – 12/6 at 3 p.m.
CLASS 3 BRACKET (select to view bracket)
State Final
Lift for Life Academy vs. Blair Oaks – 12/5 at 11 a.m.
CLASS 4 BRACKET (select to view bracket)
State Final
Kearney vs. Blair Oaks – 12/6 at 11 a.m.
CLASS 5 BRACKET (select to view bracket)
State Final
Blair Oaks vs. Platte County – 12/5 at 7 p.m.
CLASS 6 BRACKET (select to view bracket)
State Final
Lee’s Summit vs. Blair Oaks – 12/6 at 7:00 p.m.
Missouri State has officially earned a spot in a bowl game.
At the end of the college football regular season Nov. 29, Bowl Season — which coordinates the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision’s 82 postseason teams — announced the eligibility.
The Bears finished the season with a 7-5 record under head coach Ryan Beard, who served as the defensive coordinator for Missouri State before moving into the top job in 2022.
In mid-November, athletic director Patrick Ransdell announced Missouri State was petitioning the NCAA for a postseason waiver to participate in a bowl game.
Because of MSU’s recent transition to Conference USA, they were ineligible for postseason play under NCAA rules.
Missouri lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt and U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison added their support, calling on the NCAA to grant the waiver request.
“The university has done everything asked of it and more. Its student athletes have earned their place on the field and a chance to compete in the postseason through performance, not administrative technicalities,” Schmitt wrote, in part.
“The NCAA must not deny these student-athletes the postseason opportunity they have earned based on an arbitrary, outdated regulation that no longer reflects the current realities. I strongly urge the NCAA to approve Missouri State University’s waiver request and allow these student-athletes to compete for the postseason recognition their hard work and on-field success have earned.”
Burlison added: “With 82 postseason slots available this season, Missouri State University deserves equal consideration. These student-athletes have earned their opportunity on the field and should not be sidelined by an outdated rule alone.”
The NCAA waivers have been granted in the past.
In addition to Missouri State, fellow Conference USA newcomer Delaware was also granted eligibility.
Bowl pairings, dates and locations will be announced at a later date. The official Bowl Selection Show is Sunday, Dec. 7.
Missouri State fans who are interested in attending the bowl game can fill out an “intent form” to obtain ticket information as soon as a bowl destination is known.
In their inaugural season in Conference USA and the FBS ranks, the Bears are 7-5 overall and finished 5-3 in the CUSA standings to tie for fourth place in the 12-team league.
JOPLIN, MO. — Ever since sports betting launched in Kansas in 2022, numerous Missouri residents have made the trip across the border to legally access sports betting platforms such as FanDuel and DraftKings, but a change is near.
Legal sports betting officially launches in the Show-Me State on Monday, December 1 meaning that all Missouri residents will have the option to place bets from the comfort of their own home.
While it’s been just over a year since the sports betting amendment passed with a 50.05% vote to bring the once taboo activity to Missouri, some Joplin citizens have been placing bets for years being located just minutes from the Kansas border.
“I’ve been coming here [the Missouri-Kansas border] for a long time, either down here or down over in C.J. by the border over there,” Joplin resident Logan Quarles said.
From a Joplin resident’s perspective, there is a bit of irony in play considering parts of city limits extend out to the Kansas border.
“I live five minutes down the road,” Quarles said. “The border is right here. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t be able just to be in my room, in my bed, just placing bets. Instead, I have to come all the way down here to do it. Not that far to drive, but it is kind of an inconvenience.”
As for the state of Missouri itself, the legalization of sports betting is expected to benefit the average resident.
“It’s difficult to argue that it produces a lot of money to help the state do things for our citizens,” District 161 Missouri State Representative Lane Roberts said.
For the last three-plus years, surrounding states, such as Kansas, have benefited fiscally with Missouri residents making the trip across state lines to engage in betting activity.
“That’s part of what drove the effort to have gaming introduced in Missouri in the first place,” Roberts said. “We knew that people were doing that. And worse yet, there are a number of people in the state who are using offshore betting. That revenue was going to other places and that part was a little bit distasteful.”
Starting December 1, 2025, the tax revenue generated from sports betting will go toward education as well as problem gambling resources.
For bettors like Quarles, however, it means no more trips across state lines.
“I’ll be able to place it at my house, place it at my parents house, do this you know what I mean,” Quarles said. “Place it wherever I want. I don’t have to, like, set a time aside to go place my bet. I can just place it wherever I’m at.”
Detroit Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield seeking residents’ input on community issues at first town hall
San Francisco neighbours complain of noise as IITian founder works late night for Indian customers
Mavs claim most impressive win of season over Nuggets behind Ryan Nembhard’s breakout game
Self-driving robots becoming popular for food delivery service in Miami as residents share mixed feelings
MLB trade rumors: Boston Red Sox might acquire $6 million Kansas City Royals All-Star Ace in an attempt to bolster rotation ahead of deadline | MLB News – The Times of India
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Read the ruling
Radical ‘feminist’ group in the hot seat after anti-ICE ad goes viral: ‘BEYOND evil’
US Senator Chuck Schumer receives bomb threats at three offices in New York
Son of drug kingpin ‘El Chapo’ pleads guilty in US drug trafficking case in deal with prosecutors | CNN
‘A huge, huge shift to the left’: Harry Enten on Tennessee special election
-
Science1 week agoWashington state resident dies of new H5N5 form of bird flu
-
Politics4 days agoRep. Swalwell’s suit alleges abuse of power, adds to scrutiny of Trump official’s mortgage probes
-
Business7 days agoStruggling Six Flags names new CEO. What does that mean for Knott’s and Magic Mountain?
-
Technology5 days agoNew scam sends fake Microsoft 365 login pages
-
Ohio6 days agoSnow set to surge across Northeast Ohio, threatening Thanksgiving travel
-
News5 days ago2 National Guard members wounded in ‘targeted’ attack in D.C., authorities say
-
World5 days agoTrump yanks G20 invitation from South Africa over false genocide claims
-
Politics21 hours agoWar Sec Pete Hegseth shares meme of children’s book character firing on narco terrorist drug boat