Death penalty still on the table for accused Rowan Ford killer

The death penalty will remain on the table for Chris Collings when he stands trial later this year for the November 2007 rape and murder of nine-year-old Rowan Ford, a fourth grader at Triway Elementary School in Stella.

During a Jan. 26 hearing, Judge Mary Sheffield denied a defense motion to preclude the state from seeking the death penalty. She also overruled the defense's request to retain "death-scrupled" potential jurors.

Collings and the girl's stepfather, his friend David Wesley Spears, have been charged with the crimes. Collings' trial will be held in Phelps County Circuit Court on a change of venue from Barry County.