A Missouri inmate convicted in the killing of a 9-year-old girl and slated for execution in 24 hours has maintained "constant contact" with his "supportive" daughters while on death row.
Christopher Leroy Collings, 49, will die by lethal injection Tuesday at the state prison in Bonne Terre, Missouri, according to the Associated Press.
In 2012, Collings was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of his friend's stepdaughter, Rowan Ford, while the girl's mother was at work.
Collings, Rowan's stepdad, David Spears, and another friend, left the victim home alone and spent the night drinking at the would-be killer's trailer the night of Nov. 2, 2007, court records reviewed by the Lawyer Herald say.
At the end of the night, the third friend drove Spears home. At the same time, Collings took an alternate route and hurried to Spears' residence, where he abducted Rowan and brought her back to his trailer to rape her.
Afterwards, he planned to take her back home.
"He led her outside facing away from him so she couldn't see his face," court records read. "He made sure to keep the lights off and didn't speak so she wouldn't recognize his voice."
"On the way back to the truck, however, moonlight allowed Ford to see Collings's face. Knowing she had recognized him, he 'freaked out.' Collings saw a coil of cord in the bed of his truck, looped it around Ford's neck, and started pulling. She fell to the ground after struggling for a bit, and he held the cord tight until she stopped moving," the records stated.
Rowan's body was found in a cave a week later – naked from the waist down. An autopsy revealed she was sexually assaulted before she was strangled to death.
After her body was recovered, Collings confessed to Rowan's killing, and during the trial, the jury agreed her "murder in the first degree was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman in that it involved torture, or depravity of mind," recommending the death penalty, according to court records.
Following more than a decade on death row, Collings' defense team is hoping a court will issue a stay of execution or for Missouri Gov. Michael Parson to intervene and grant clemency by end of day Monday, his attorneys say, according to USA TODAY.
Behind bars, Collings has remained in "constant contact" with his daughters, Susan and Skylar, who are "incredibly supportive of their father," his attorney, Jeremy Weis, told the paper.
"Chris is incredibly proud of his children and so happy that he can occupy a part of their lives."
Collings is scheduled for execution at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Potosi Correctional Center.
