MURDERED, 9-YEAR-OLD REANN MURPHY, OHIO

[HairOfTheDog]

I was so hoping she'd wandered off.

Glad, at least, that a suspect was identified and arrested so quickly.


Reann Murphy, murder victim and Jerrod Metsker, her accused killer

A 9-year-old Ohio girl last seen playing in the mobile home park where she lived was found dead in a nearby trash bin after a frantic search, and police on Sunday arrested a neighbor they've described as a family friend in the killing.

Jerrod Metsker, 24, was arrested at his home on a murder charge about 12 hours after deputies found the body of Reann Murphy near her home in Smithville, about 30 miles southwest of Akron, Wayne County Sheriff Travis Hutchinson said at a news conference.

Metsker was scheduled to appear in court Monday morning.

Reann was last seen Saturday night playing outside in a shared area at the mobile home park. She was reported missing after 8 p.m. and officers, firefighters and neighbors joined in the search for Reann, going door-to-door and combing area properties. Her body was found around 1:35 a.m. Sunday, Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson wouldn't say how Reann was killed or offer a motive.

Full story: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/12/rea...98149.html
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RIP, Reann.

[RaisingAPrince]

I thought about starting a thread for this yesterday but never got around to it. It's so so sad. The headline on the article I read was "Autistic neighbor arrested for murder of 9-year old missing girl". It also said he was helping with the search and said he had searched the dumpster......I have sympathy for those who suffer from a disorder like Autism, however I hope they don't get away with using that as an excuse. If he knew enough to lie about searching the dumpster, he knew better than to kill a little girl.

[HairOfTheDog]

Thanks for the info, RAP.

Such a sad story - Reann's dad was reportedly friendly with Metsker and is understandably furious and devastated.

Here's the latest from ABC 5:
SMITHVILLE, Ohio - The man accused of killing a 9-year-old girl then dumping her body in a dumpster is the one who called 911.

The Wayne County Sheriff's Department also said that 24-year-old Jerrod Metsker also took part in the search for Reann Murphy Saturday night.

Police said both Murphy and Metsker lived in the same mobile home park in Smithville. According to police, Metsker was the last person seen with Murphy. The two were building a snowman together Saturday afternoon. Sheri Rose's son was playing with them too but he got cold and went inside.

I didn't see him as a threat and I allowed my children to play with him and it makes me sick," said Rose.

But others in the neighborhood were not so trusting.

"I got a real bad vibe from him," said April Walters, who did not allow her children to play with Metsker.

Metsker was arraigned on an aggravated murder charge on Monday morning. Bond was set at $1 million.

Preliminary ressults of an autopsy released Monday night determine strangulation as Murphy's cause of death.