Nearly 17 years after the murder of nine-year-old Rowan Ford, an execution date has been set for one of the men involved in her death.
The Supreme Court of Missouri issued a warrant of execution for Christopher Collings on Tuesday. He will be executed at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 3. In April, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey requested an execution date for Collings , who was convicted of the 2007 killing of nine-year-old Ford.
Ford, who was a fourth-grader at Stella Elementary School, was last seen Nov. 2, 2007, at her home in Stella, where she lived with her mother Colleen Spears and stepfather David Spears. Following a weeklong search, which included support from about 40 FBI agents, Ford's body was found in a hillside cave in McDonald County, about 10 miles south of her home.
The day after Ford's body was found, David Spears, 25 at the time, and Collings, 32 at the time, were arrested and charged with first-degree murder, forcible rape and statutory rape, according to previous News-Leader reporting.
Collings, now 49, was sentenced in 2012 to life in prison for first-degree murder, and Spears was sentenced to a total of 11 years in prison for first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and hindering the prosecution of a felony. As of Tuesday, Spears was no longer in Missouri Department of Corrections custody.
What happened to Rowan Ford?
Just a few days after Spears and Collings' arrest, Collings confessed his crimes to the authorities.
According to previous News-Leader reporting based on Collings' confession, on the night of Ford's disappearance, Collings and Spears took the girl from her home to a camping trailer in Barry County where Collings lived. There, the men raped Ford and one of them strangled her with a cord. Her body was later moved to the cave in McDonald County.
Authorities initially had been suspicious of Spears because he did not cooperate in explaining the reason behind his "lengthy absence" from the family's home the night of Ford's disappearance, per previous News-Leader coverage.
Ford's mother, Colleen, last saw her daughter on the evening of Nov. 2 before going to a shift at Walmart in a neighboring town. When Colleen left, Ford was asleep in her bed and Spears remained at home to watch her.
Spears later told authorities that he went out with friends the night of Nov. 2, leaving Ford at home. He returned around midnight but did not check on his stepdaughter. Spears later left the house a second time after calling his mother, asking to borrow her sport utility vehicle, according to previous News-Leader reporting. Spears' mother brought her vehicle to the Spears' household but did not check on Ford while Spears was gone for about five-and-a-half hours.
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Initially, Spears and Collings pleaded not guilty to the charges. However, after obtaining lawyers, the two men pleaded guilty. Discussion about the death penalty for Collings began as early as May 2008.
On Nov. 14, 2007, not two weeks after Ford was reported missing, more than 300 community members gathered to mourn her loss at Gospel Lighthouse Church in Neosho. Colleen filed for a divorce from Spears in December 2007, according to court documents.
Greta Cross is the trending topics reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. She has more than five years of journalism experience covering everything from Ozarks history to Springfield’s LGBTQIA+ community. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at gcross@news-leader.com .
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Execution date set for Missouri man responsible for death of 9-year-old Rowan Ford in 2007
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