Child killer’s last words, meal before execution for 2007 rape, murder of 9-year-old Rowan Ford

The last words and final meal of a man who raped and murdered a little girl who knew him as “Uncle Chris” have been revealed after his execution.

An American child killer has just been executed for the 2007 rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl who knew him as “Uncle Chris” — with the killer telling observers he hopes to see them “in heaven one day”.

Christopher Collings, 49, was declared dead nine minutes after he was injected with a single dose of pentobarbital, a barbiturate drug, inside a state prison in Missouri — marking the 23rd execution in the US this year.

The father of two was found guilty of the murder of little Rowan Ford, who was sexually assaulted, strangled and dumped in a sinkhole in a small town, the New York Post reports.

“Right or wrong I accept this situation for what it is,” Collings said in a written final statement.

“To anyone that I have hurt in this life I am sorry. I hope that you are able to get closure and move on.

“I hope to see you in heaven one day.”

Rowan Ford was just 9-years-old when she was raped and murdered by Christopher Collings in 2007. Picture: Supplied

Child killer’s last meal

His last meal was a bacon cheeseburger, breaded mushrooms, tater tots and a chef salad, the Kansas City Star reported.

Collings was pals with Rowan’s stepfather, David Spears, and lived in the same home as the two and Rowan’s mother, Colleen Munson, for several months in 2007.

One night after heavy drinking and smoking marijuana with Spears and another man, Collings scooped up the child from his bed as she slept and took her to his camper, per court records.

He raped her, and then after she saw Collings’ face as he carried her back home, he confessed he “freaked out” and strangled her with a wire.

He put her body in a sinkhole and burned the wire he used, the clothes he had on and a bloodstained mattress, according to prosecutors.

A ‘horrendous and callous crime’

When Ms Munson got home from work the morning of November 3, she was told by Spears that Rowan was at a friend’s home. When she never came home, police launched a massive search for her.

Spears also implicated himself in the crime, claiming Collings gave him a cord and that he killed Rowan, according to court docs cited in a clemency petition for Collings.

Collings was pals with Rowan’s stepfather, David Spears, and had been living in their home when he snatched the girl from a bed and committed the ‘horrendous and callous crime’. Picture: Missouri Department of Corrections via AP

His last meal was a bacon cheeseburger, breaded mushrooms, tater tots and a chef salad. Picture: Courtesy of Jeremy Weis

He died nine minutes after receiving a single dose of pentobarbital, a barbiturate drug, inside a state prison in Missouri. Picture: Nick Wagner/Kansas City Star/Tribune

Spears ended up pleading to lesser charges and served more than seven years in prison.

Last-ditch appeals on behalf of Collings to Missouri Govenor Mike Parson and the US Supreme Court failed.

“Mr Collings has received every protection afforded by the Missouri and United States Constitutions, and Mr. Collings’ conviction and sentence remain for his horrendous and callous crime,” Govenor Parson said in a statement.

Rowan was remembered as a happy student who loved Barbie and painted her room pink, according to teachers who testified at her trial.

“I am so proud of the girl that she was turning out to be,” her older sister, Ariane Macks, told USA Today.

“A part of me died when my sister died. I did lose my ray of sunshine … She was very shy but when she opened up, it’s like the whole room lit up.

“Rowan, she was something very special.”

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission