REANN MURPHY - 9 yo - / Arrested: Neighbor, Jarrod Metsker - Smithville, OH

Reann Murphy, 9, killed and put in rubbish

December 16, 2013 5:48AM



'Violent death'... The body of nine-year-old Reann Murphy was found dumped in a rubbish bin in the US city of Smithville. Source: Supplied


A SUSPECT in the death of a 9-year-old Ohio girl was arrested on a murder charge on Sunday, hours after her body was found in a rubbish bin near her home.


Reann Murphy was last seen on Saturday night playing outdoors at the mobile home park where she lived in Smithville, about 30 miles southwest of Akron. Sheriff's deputies found Reann's body in a rubbish bin in the area at 1:30am Sunday, about five hours after she was reported missing.
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The Wayne County Sheriff's Office announced the arrest early Sunday afternoon and scheduled a news conference for 2:30pm (6:30am Monday AEDT).

Authorities didn't immediately return repeated calls seeking further information, including how Reann was killed and the name of the suspect.

Officers, firefighters and neighbors joined in the frantic search for Reann on Saturday night, going door-to-door in the park and combing area properties.

"Any violent death is troubling but the death of a child is much more so," Sheriff Travis Hutchinson said in a news release, calling Reann's killing a "violent death."

Marilyn Briggs, who lives in a house next to the mobile home park, said she didn't know Reann or her family but was shaken by the girl's killing.

"It sickens me and I'm so sad for the family, and this close to Christmas," Briggs said. "It's just awful. You never think something like that is going to happen in your area."

Briggs described the park as a bit run-down but generally safe and added that she wasn't aware of any serious crimes in the area in the eight years she's lived there.


http://www.news.com.au/world/reann-murphy-9-killed-and-put-in-rubbish/story-fndir2ev-1226783690153

Reann Murphy murder: Jerrod Metsker arrested after girl found in trash bin
By The Associated Press
 
December 16, 2013 - 10:47 am

Death Of Missing Girl Brings Attention To Amber Alert Decisions


Posted: Updated:

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Ohio -


An endangered child alert was issued for a 9-year-old Wayne County girl who disappeared Saturday evening, but not an Amber Alert. Local law enforcement agents said there is a criteria cases must meet before an Amber Alert is issued.

"It really is for a true abduction of a child. We really don't see that very often," said Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen.

Phalen said it's been years since his detectives have had to issue an Amber Alert for a missing child.

"The reality for an actual stranger abduction, those cases are very very rare and typically we see very few of them," he said.

But when they do, the sheriff said, every second counts.

"Anytime you have a child abduction, time is very important," said Phalen.

In the case of 9-year-old Reann Murphy, who disappeared from a playground in Smithville Saturday at about 5:30 p.m., investigators said she was reported missing nearly three hours later. She was found dead in a trash Dumpster at 1:35 a.m. Sunday. An endangered child alert was issued after sheriff's deputies took the report, but no Amber Alert.

Phalen said the alert does not go out with every missing child's case because they have to know the child is in serious danger and detectives also need specific information about the suspect.

"If we put it out to the media outlets, we're putting out this is the type of vehicle, this is the license number, this is the description of the suspect," Phalen said, adding that the victim has to be under the age of 18.

In Murphy's case, deputies have now arrested 24-year-old Jerrod Metsker, who detectives said knew the girl and her family and was their neighbor.

"We will always do our dead level best to try and find a child," Phalen says.

http://www.nbc4i.com/story/24226461/when-amber-alerts-are-issued

Suspect in child's murder called 911 to report her missing


Posted: Dec 17, 2013 11:13 AM EST Updated: Dec 17, 2013 10:30 PM EST


Jerrod Metsker in court

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[*]Reann Murphy (Source: Family)

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WOOSTER, OH (WOIO) -

The man charged with killing a little girl in Wayne County was the one who called 911 to report the child missing.

[*]Nine-year-old Reann Murphy went missing late Saturday afternoon while playing outside in the Smithville mobile home park. Her body was found hours later in a dumpster.
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Witnesses tell police the child had been playing with her suspected killer before she disappeared. 
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24-year-old Jerrod Metsker, an autistic neighbor, is charged with her murder and jailed on a $1M bond. 
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19 Action News has learned Metsker was the one who placed the 911 call to report the child missing during the frantic search. 

[*][Mobile users may listen to the entire 911 call HERE]
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"Yes, we have a missing person at Akron Road, um, the trailer park in Smithville, Ohio. Everybody is out searching for her and we can't find her," Metsker told the 911 dispatcher.
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"Who is missing?" the dispatcher asked.
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"A little girl. Reann," Metsker replied.
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Reann's stepfather then took the phone to supply the dispatcher with information regarding her disappearance.
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Metsker is expected back in court no December 23 unless he gets indicted by the Wayne County Grand Jury on Friday. 
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Late Monday, the Wayne County coroner released the preliminary cause of death for Reann was strangulation. A final cause of death not expected for several weeks. 
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No motive has been released.


http://www.19actionnews.com/story/24241022/suspect-in-childs-murder-called-911-to-report-her-missing

Man pleads not guilty in rape, death of Ohio girl

Mary Beth Breckenridge/Akron Beacon Journal via AP
Jerrod Metsker, 24, in a photo provided by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, was arrested this month after deputies found Reann Murphy's body near her home in Smithville.

By John Coyne, The Associated Press

WOOSTER, Ohio — An Ohio man pleaded not guilty Thursday in the rape and strangulation of a 9-year-old girl whose body was found in a trash bin at the trailer park where they were neighbors.

One of Jerrod Metsker's court-appointed attorneys entered the pleas for him in Wayne County court. Metsker, wearing a red jail outfit with his wrists handcuffed, appeared via video and did not speak during the brief hearing.

A grand jury had indicted the 24-year-old Metsker on charges of aggravated murder, kidnapping and rape. He is being held on $1 million bond. Authorities previously said the death penalty would be available as punishment if Metsker is convicted of murder.

Metsker was the last person seen with 9-year-old Reann Murphy at their trailer park in Smithville, southwest of Akron, authorities said. A caller identifying himself as Metsker reported Reann missing in a 911 call.

Her body was found Dec. 15 after a frantic search by neighbors and law enforcement. Metsker was arrested later that day. The prosecutor said she was likely killed at Metsker's mobile home between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 14.

On that day, the girl had been at home with her mother's live-in boyfriend while her mother was at work, authorities said. Reann went outside to play in the snow and was with several other children in the trailer park's courtyard, but the others went home, leaving Metsker alone with her.

Her father, Richard Murphy, said Thursday that he was supposed to have Reann at his house in Creston that weekend but was not able to reach her mother for the exchange. He said he last saw her the day after Thanksgiving.

Wayne County sheriff's investigators earlier described Metsker as a family friend and neighbor. Capt. Douglas Hunter said Metsker has a "diminished mental capacity" but didn't release information about a specific diagnosis.

A judge was assigned, but it wasn't clear when the next hearing would be scheduled.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/26/22061229-man-pleads-not-guilty-in-rape-death-of-ohio-girl?lite&lite=obinsite