A Missouri man who helped cover up the rape and murder of his 9-year-old stepdaughter—and now holds a taxpayer-funded job in the Public Defender's Office—has sparked outrage, with one lawmaker saying, "It just goes beyond outrage."
David Spears, who pleaded guilty to charges connected to the 2007 killing of his stepdaughter Rowan Ford, was hired by the Missouri State Public Defender's Office shortly after his release from prison, according to the Daily Mail.
Spears was convicted of felony child endangerment and hindering prosecution after taking a plea deal in Rowan's death. Originally charged with murder, he was sentenced in 2012 to 11 years in prison but was released early in 2015 due to credit for time served.
The crime involved Rowan being raped and murdered by family friend Christopher Collings, who had been living with the family at the time. Collings confessed to the killing and was later executed on December 3. Spears admitted to drinking and smoking with Collings the night of the crime and to assisting in the cover-up that followed.
Collings abducted Rowan while she was sleeping, took her to a camper, and assaulted her, according to police and court documents. He claimed that after the assault, he intended to return her home but panicked when she saw his face. Collings said he strangled her with a rope he found in his truck and later disposed of the evidence, including burning the rope, his clothes, and the bloody mattress. He confessed to leaving her body in a sinkhole, where it was discovered days later.
Records uncovered by a KSN16/KODE investigation show that Spears was employed by the Public Defender's Office on June 27, 2016, while still on probation, which lasted until November 2017. During that time, taxpayers funded his salary. Reports suggest he was hired by Stephen Reynolds, a district defender and the husband of Spears' former attorney Sharon Turlington.
Missouri lawmakers have called for Spears' immediate dismissal. "It just goes beyond outrage. There really isn't a word that describes how I felt when I found out that he was actually employed at the public's expense," said Joplin area State Representative Lane Roberts. He continued, "To lose a child is in itself just gut-wrenching. But when you look at how he conducted himself, the crying and the carrying on about what a tortured soul he was."
"This was her stepfather," Roberts emphasized. "This was a man who was supposed to have protected her. Instead, he sought to help the individual who took her life avoid prosecution."
