Christopher Leroy Collings, 49, was executed by lethal injection in Missouri after being convicted of the 2007 kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of 9‑year‑old Rowan Ford. Collings, who had known the girl as “Uncle Chris” from living with her family, was put to death at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 6:10 p.m. CST following the administration of a single dose of pentobarbital.
In his written final statement, Collings acknowledged his sentence and expressed remorse, writing that he hoped those affected could “get closure and move on,” and saying he hoped to see them “in heaven one day.” His execution came after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal and Missouri Governor Mike Parson denied clemency, affirming the courts’ decisions to uphold his death sentence.
Collings’ case dates back to November 2007, when Rowan Ford was last seen in her Stella, Missouri, home while her mother worked and her stepfather and a friend were drinking together. Court records show Collings returned to the home alone, took the still‑sleeping child, and drove her to his camper. There, authorities said he sexually assaulted her; when she later saw him in moonlight, he strangled her and left her body in a rural sinkhole.
Rowan’s disappearance prompted a community search after she failed to return home. Her body was found days later, and Collings eventually admitted to police that he had abducted her and, as he put it, “freaked out” and killed her. He was tried, convicted of first‑degree murder and sentenced to death in 2012.
At trial, Rowan’s family and teachers described her as a happy, hardworking fourth‑grader; her loss had a lasting impact on her community. Efforts by Collings’ defense to raise mitigation, including arguments about childhood trauma and brain abnormalities, were rejected by state officials during clemency proceedings.
Collings’ execution was the fourth carried out by Missouri in 2024 and among more than twenty nationwide. Those opposing capital punishment argued the sentence did not allow for redemption, while state leaders maintained that carrying out the legal sentence provided a measure of justice for Rowan’s family.
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Christopher Collings was executed in Missouri for the 2007 abduction, sexual assault and murder of 9‑year‑old Rowan Ford, a crime that shocked the community and led to decades of legal review. After appeals and a denied clemency request, Missouri carried out his death sentence. Collings’ written final statement expressed remorse and a hope for closure for those affected by his actions.
