Man who helped cover-up sex murder of his stepdaughter, 9, lands outrageous taxpayer-funded job

A Missouri man convicted for his role in the brutal murder of his nine-year-old stepdaughter landed a taxpayer-funded job in the District Attorney’s Office.

David Spears pleaded guilty to playing a role in the 2007 death of his stepdaughter Rowan Ford.

The little girl was raped and strangled by family friend Christopher Collings, who lived with them at the time.

Collings received the death penalty for the heinous crime and was executed on December 3.

Spears was initially charged with murder for the nine-year-old’s death, but took a plea deal for felony child endangerment and hindering prosecution.

In 2012 he was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was given credit for time served between his arrest and conviction and was released in March 2015.

A KSN16/KODE Investigation revealed that shortly after his release from prison, Spears was hired by the Missouri State Public Defender’s office before his probation was complete.

State records show his appointment date was June 27, 2016. However, he was placed on probation until November 2017, meaning taxpayers funded his salary while he was on probation for the heinous crime.

Rowan Ford, 9, was raped and murdered in 2007 by family friend Christopher Collins, whom she knew as ‘Uncle Chris’

He was reportedly hired by Stephen Reynolds, the district attorney in the trial office in Clayton, Missouri, the husband of Spears’ former attorney Sharon Turlington.

Collings and Spears admitted to smoking and drinking together the night Collings killed Rowan.

Collings said he picked Rowan up while she was sleeping and took her to a camper where he attacked her.

He told police he planned to take her home afterwards, but she saw his face and he killed her in a panic, claiming he “freaked out.”

Collings said he saw a rope in his truck and used it to strangle her to death. He admitted to police that he burned the rope, the clothes he was wearing and the bloody mattress after attacking Rowan.

After killing the child, he confessed to putting her in a sinkhole. Her body was found a few days later.

The morning after Collings committed the heinous crimes, Rowan’s mother, Colleen Munson, came home from her night shift and asked where her daughter was going.

Spears said she was with a friend. But Munson called police in the afternoon when her daughter did not return.

Spears was reportedly hired by Stephen Reynolds, the district attorney in the trial office in Clayton, Missouri, the husband of his former attorney Sharon Turlington.

The morning after Collings committed the heinous crimes, Rowan’s mother Colleen Munson came home from her night shift and asked where her daughter was going.

Christopher Collings (pictured) was executed in December for Rowan’s murder

Collings, Spears and a third man were at the center of the investigation because they were the last people to see the young girl.

Court documents and the pardon petition stated that Spears told police he actually killed Rowan after Collings handed him a cord.

‘I’ll strangle her with it. I realize she’s gone. She’s… she’s really gone,” Spears said in transcripts.

According to court documents, it was Spears who sent police to the sinkhole where Rowan was found. However, according to the court, Collings denied that Spears was involved.

Outraged Missouri state lawmakers sent a letter to the Public Defenders Commission demanding Spears be fired.

‘It just goes beyond outrage. There’s really no word that describes how I felt when I found out he was actually working at the public’s expense,” said State Rep. Lane Roberts of Joplin. KY3.

‘Losing a child is heartbreaking in itself. But if you look at the way he was acting, the crying and the fuss about what a tortured soul he was.

‘This was her stepfather. This was a man who should have protected her. Instead, he tried to help the person who took her life avoid prosecution.”