JESSICA WILLIAMS - 11 yo - / Accused: Christopher Sowell, neighbor - Gosnell, AR

Neighbor, 17, 'killed girl, 11, who was found murdered in a ditch with her loyal dog guarding her body'


A 17-year-old boy has been arrested for allegedly murdering his 11-year-old neighbor after she was found in a ditch three miles from her home - with her devoted dog guarding her body.

Christopher Sowell was arrested for first-degree murder in Gosnell, Arkansas on Wednesday, just hours after the body of missing Jessica Williams was found by Big Lake in Mississippi County.

Authorities have not said how the young girl died, but her devastated father Eric Williams said it looked as though she had drowned in two feet of water.


Tragic: Jessica Williams vanished on Tuesday night and her body was found in a ditch three miles away on Wednesday morning - with her loyal pet dog, Rhyback (right), standing over her


Arrest: Christopher Sowell, 17, was arrested late Wednesday night and will be charged as an adult

Jessica had been missing since Tuesday night when she vanished while playing with her dog in her father's front yard as he showered and prepared dinner.

A neighbor passed by and told him they had seen the young girl's bike at the end of the road - but that she was nowhere in sight.

'I said something don't feel right, so I drove on down to [a neighbor's] house. I said, "Have you seen her?" He ain't seen her,' Williams told WREG. 'We started going door to door all the way down here.'

Neighbors layunched a massive search for the girl, riding four wheelers in the farm fields to look for her - with no success.


Scene: Her bike was found near her home and her body was found in a ditch by this lake the next day


Home: She was last seen playing outside her father's home, pictured, with her dog on Tuesday night

Her father eventually reported her missing at 9pm, after she had been missing for around three hours, and said that he had last seen her outside his home just southwest of Gosnell.

Mississippi County Criminal Investigations Commander Robb Rounsavall said the girl's bicycle was found in a ditch near a house further down the road.

Her body was miles away from the site - and her father and investigators agreed it was not found anywhere where she could have easily walked or taken her bike.

It was found at 6.30am on Wednesday, with her loyal puppy, Rhyback, standing over her body, her father said.


Loss: Jessica, who was allegedly killed by a 17-year-old neighbor, loved the outdoors and animals


Shock: Her father, Eric Williams, said his beloved daughter had dreams of becoming a rancher

Her body is being sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab to determine her cause of death.

Jessica's uncle Tim Southern expressed his shock at the senseless death.

'You know, why would you want to take an 11-year-old and do this? I mean she's done nothing to you. She's just beginning life,' he said. 'She loved life itself. You know she loved her grandma, grandpas, her mom and dad, especially her sister, little cousins.'

Mr Williams described the 11-year-old girl as a tomboy who loved her pets, was friendly with neighbors and loved bouncing on their trampoline.

'She wanted to be a rancher,' he said. 'She loved horses. She loved animals.'

Sowell will be arraigned this afternoon and is being charged as an adult in the case.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2405868/Jessica-Williams-Neighbor-17-killed-girl-11-murdered-ditch-loyal-dog-guarding-body.html

Sad.  Another little angel murdered.  A lot of people just don't respect life.  William

Teen Neighbor Confesses To Murder Of 11-Year-Old Girl
(Mississippi County, AR) A 17-year-old male has confessed to the murder of an 11-year-old girl.

Mississippi County Sheriff Dale Cook says 17-year-old Christopher Sowell is charged with 1st. degree murder and will be arraigned this afternoon.

Sowell was arrested late Wednesday night and is being held on a two million dollar bond.

The body of Jessica Williams was found in a ditch near Gosnell, Arkansas Wednesday morning.

In court, prosecutors say Sowell told police Jessica was talking to him and made him angry.

Sowell said he pushed Jessica, she fell, then said she was going to tell her father what happened.

Sowell said he got scared and choked her until, “She got wide eyed,” then pushed her into the water near the bridge on which they were standing.

Sowell and Williams rode together to school each day on a bus.

Jessica’s father, Eric, called police Tuesday night, after a neighbor found the missing girl’s bike in the road, “I knew something wasn’t right then. I went and picked up her bike and went to check.”

At the school in Gosnell where Jessica was a student, her classmates were first told early Wednesday she was missing.

But Bonard Mace, superintendent of the Gosnell School District, said that changed within an hour.

“And we come back an hour later and explained that she was found. And like I said, the news wasn’t as good as we would have liked it to have been. The students were shocked and saddened.”

Grief counselors were at the school all day helping students cope with the news of Jessica’s death.

http://wreg.com/2013/08/29/arrest-made-in-death-of-11-year-old-girl/

Teen pleads not guilty in Jessica Williams' death

Updated: Sep 27, 2013 10:53 AM CST



 

Christopher Sowell (Mississippi County Sheriff's Office)


BLYTHEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - The teenager accused of killing an 11-year-old girl has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.

Seventeen-year-old Christopher Sowell pleaded not guilty to the charge on Thursday. He's due back in court on Oct. 14, and his trial is set to begin on Nov. 12.

Sowell is accused of killing 11-year-old Jessica Williams. Authorities found the girl's body in a ditch near Gosnell last month.

Sowell was previously ordered to be held in jail on $2 million cash bond.

A Mississippi County Sheriff's Department document says Sowell has acknowledged killing Jessica. That document says Sowell said he choked Jessica and pushed her over the side of a bridge.

Sowell's attorney, John Bradley, and prosecutor Scott Ellington declined to comment because a judge has issued a gag order in the case.

http://www.kait8.com/story/23542398/teen-pleads-not-guilty-in-arkansas-girls-death?app&clienttype=generic&mobilecgbypass&utm_source=buffer&utm_campaign=Buffer&utm_content=buffer503d0&utm_medium=twitter