A Missouri man who admitted to helping cover up the rape and murder of his nine-year-old stepdaughter is drawing outrage after revelations that he's been employed in a taxpayer-funded job within the State Public Defender's Office.
David Spears, who pleaded guilty for his role in the horrific 2007 death of his stepdaughter Rowan Ford, landed a position in the Missouri State Public Defender's Office shortly after his release from prison, according to the Daily Mail.
"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 in an interview with KY3.
Roberts also criticized Spears' behavior in the aftermath of the crime. "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. This was a man who was supposed to have protected her. Instead, he sought to help the individual who took her life avoid prosecution."
Rowan Ford, just nine years old, was raped and strangled by Christopher Collings, a family friend living with Spears at the time. Collings was sentenced to death for the gruesome crime and was executed on December 3. Spears initially faced murder charges but later agreed to a plea deal, admitting to felony child endangerment and hindering prosecution.
In 2012, Spears was sentenced to 11 years in prison but was released in March 2015 after receiving credit for time served.
A subsequent investigation by KSN16/KODE revealed that Spears was hired by the Public Defender's Office on June 27, 2016, despite being on probation until November 2017. This meant that taxpayers were funding his salary while he was still under probation for his involvement in the appalling crime.
The hiring decision has drawn scrutiny, as it reportedly came from Stephen Reynolds, a district defender in the Clayton, Missouri, trial office. Reynolds is the husband of Spears' former attorney, Sharon Turlington.
The horrifying details of Rowan Ford's murder continue to haunt those familiar with the case. On the night of the crime, Spears and Collings had been drinking and smoking together. According to Collings' confession, he took Rowan to a camper while she was sleeping, where he assaulted her.
Afterward, he panicked, fearing she would identify him, and used a rope from his truck to strangle her. Collings then disposed of her body in a sinkhole, burning the rope, his clothes, and a bloody mattress to conceal evidence.
Rowan's mother, Colleen Munson, returned home from work the next morning and asked Spears about her daughter's whereabouts. Spears claimed she was at a friend's house. However, when Rowan didn't return, Munson called the police. Collings, Spears, and another man became the primary focus of the investigation.
Spears later told investigators that he killed Rowan after Collings handed him a cord. "I choke her with it. I realize she's gone. She's... she's really gone," he said, according to transcripts. He ultimately directed police to the sinkhole where Rowan's body was found. Despite this, Collings maintained that Spears was not involved in the murder, according to court filings.
The Missouri State Public Defender's Office has not publicly addressed the controversy surrounding Spears' hiring, leaving many questions unanswered.
