Missing Missouri Girl, Breeann Rodriquez, 3 years old Found Dead in Ditch/Neighbor Shawn Morgan, 43, Confesses to Her Murder, Charged with First Degree Murder, Death Penalty Possible

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Another article describing what happened.

Breeann Rodriguez's Accused Killer: Seemed to Take an Hour for Her to Die

Comstock/Thinkstock(SENATH, Mo.) -- The suspect charged in the death of Breeann Rodriguez told police that "it felt like it took an hour" for the three-year-old girl to die as he held a plastic bag over her head.

Shawn Morgan, 43, of Senath, Mo., has been charged with first-degree murder in the case of little Breeann.

Morgan, the father of three, worked in a steel factory in nearby Blytheville, Ark.

Breeann was last seen on Aug. 6, riding her pink bicycle with her brother outside her home in Senath. Her disappearance shocked the hamlet of 1,600 people.

They were even more stunned when police arrested Breeann's neighbor and charged him with murder.

The details of the murder came out Monday when police released a probable cause affidavit. In it, officials stated that Morgan told them that he found Breeann standing on the ladder of his backyard swimming pool. He said he grabbed the girl and took her inside his house, where he suffocated her with a plastic trash bag, the affidavit states. Morgan told investigators that "it felt like it took an hour for the girl to die," according to the affidavit.

Morgan allegedly stuffed Breeann's body in the garbage bag and drove to floodway ditches and threw the bag over the railing.

He then returned home where he allegedly dismantled the girl's pink bicycle in the floodway ditches.

"Morgan is charged with knowingly causing the death of Breeann Rodriguez by suffocating her," said Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Stephen Sokolof in a statement to ABC News.

"It is alleged that he did so by use of a dangerous instrument, a plastic garbage bag. He is also charged with tampering with physical evidence by concealing her bicycle in the investigation of her death."

Dunklin County Sheriff Bol Holder told ABCNews.com that Breeann's body has not yet been recovered, but they were searching ditches in Hornersville, about six miles from Senath.

"There's a series of five ditches down there. We're in the process of checking all of them," Holder said.

"We're dragging the ditches, have helicopters and dogs out there searching. We're making every effort to find her," he said.

According to the prosecutor's office, Morgan has not yet secured legal representation. He is currently being held at the Dunklin County Justice Center.

The suspect is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the Dunklin County Courthouse.

Morgan faces a sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted.

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This is one of the saddest cases I have ever read. WHY would this man kill her? He has three children of his own! What would be his motivation? The pain I feel for her parents is palpable. I pray he did not molest her!! And, if he has told them where he dumped her body (trash bag - did he get this idea from "the lying slut?") WHY can't they find her?

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Looks like they might have found her.

According to the officials, her remains were located by an officer of the Missouri State Highway Patrol Water Patrol, who was searching by boat.

Shortly after the discovery, authorities notified the child's parents, Edgar Rodriguez and Claudia Ramos, that her body was found.

"We appreciate all the help and support from the community in what has been a difficult time for all," Holder said. "We are saddened to confirm our fears, but glad we have been able to recover her for her parents."

RIP little Breeann.

Body of Missing 3-Year-Old Breeann Rodriguez Found


Authorities have found the body of missing 3-year-old Breeann Rodriguez in Dunklin County, Mo., after an exhaustive search that began when the girl went missing while riding her bike near her home.

The body was found in a drainage ditch at 9 p.m. CST Tuesday, according to Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Stephen Sokoloff. The man charged in the murder of Rodriguez is currently in police custody.

Shawn Morgan, 43, a steel factory worker, father of three and neighbor of the girl, was arrested around 11 p.m. Friday. He has already been charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and tampering with physical evidence, and faces three counts including first-degree murder, Sokoloff said.

Authorities have not said what led them to arrest Morgan.

"Morgan is charged with causing the death of Breeann Rodriguez, 3 years old, also of Senath, by suffocating her," Sokoloff told ABC affiliate KAIT-TV. "The charge is that he did this on Aug. 6, the day that she went missing."

Morgan said that he found the tot on a ladder in his backyard pool, grabbed her and carried her inside his home, according to a probable cause statement an agent filed with the court. Morgan then suffocated her with a white plastic trash bag.

Morgan told the agent that it "felt like it took an hour for the girl to die," according to the statement. He didn't say why he killed the child.

Morgan told Trowbridge he put the child's body in the same trash bag he used to kill her and drove to the floodway — a low-lying undeveloped area along a state road — and threw the bag over a railing into a ditch, the Associated Press reproted. He said he then went home and dismantled the girl's bike, which he dumped in the same area of the river system.

Two small bicycle training wheels were found Thursday in an area of "heavy brush" located approximately two miles southeast of Breeann's home which the FBI said may have come from the tot's bicycle.

The girl's father, Edgar Rodriguez, however, identified the wheels as belonging to his daughter because he had adjusted the wheels for Breeann's 2-foot-4 height, the FBI said.

The little girl was last seen riding her bike with her 5-year-old brother. Her brother ran inside to get a drink, and when he returned his sister was gone.

"It's just something we never thought we'd be going through," Edgar Rodriguez said.

Senath is a tiny hamlet in the southeast corner of the state with a population of less than 1,600 people and an extremely low crime rate.

"I got a child missing and it ain't supposed to happen," Senath Police Department Chief Omar Karnes said earlier this week.

Billboards with Breeann's picture went up in Missouri and Arkansas with an announcement of a $45,000 reward -- $25,000 from the FBI and $20,000 from the Senath Marshal's Office -- for the arrest and prosecution of whoever is responsible.

Sheriff's deputies, Missouri State Highway Patrol, FBI agents, officers from the Senath Police Department and volunteers searched throughout the day for Breeann's body, McCammon said.
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How old are his three children?

I am relieved that her body has been found. And, confused as to WHY it took them so long to find her once the murderer admitted it.

I try not to think of Celina's last minutes of life. It reminds me of little Caylee.

Motive??? This bothers me....could this father be covering for his own child??? Maybe it's just me but something doesn't seem quite right.

Another sad and senseless loss of a precious innocent life.

Laga, I've read somewhere the ages of the murderer's children, I've looked here and on the Internet and I cannot find any info. Sorry, I tried!

I finally found one article that gave their ages from a friend.

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.Newman said his own son went to high school with Morgan. He said Morgan is married with three children ranging in age from about 8 to about 14. He works at a factory in Paragould, Ark., Newman said.

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Wrapitup wrote:I am relieved that her body has been found. And, confused as to WHY it took them so long to find her once the murderer admitted it.

I try not to think of Celina's last minutes of life. It reminds me of little Caylee.

She was dropped from a bridge into a large current of water with many waterways and canals. I thought I posted an article with pictures in one of the Breeann threads.

This was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Kudos to all the search team. Can you imagine how these souls felt looking for a baby girl. Sad..very sad.

Police: Motive unclear in death of Mo. 3-year-old

SENATH, MO. – As the small Missouri town of Senath prepares to say goodbye to Breeann Rodriguez, police are trying to determine what allegedly drove a neighbor to suffocate the 3-year-old girl.

Breeann's body was found in a remote floodway about eight miles from the family home in Senath, a town of 1,500 residents in far southeastern Missouri. Her funeral is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at the Senath Church of Christ.

A Missouri State Highway Patrol officer searching by boat found the body Tuesday on the bank of a wide drainage ditch, Julie Crowder of the Dunklin County Sheriff's Department said Wednesday.

"We are saddened to confirm our fears but glad we have been able to recover her for her parents," Sheriff Bob Holder said in a statement. He was out of the office and unavailable for comment Wednesday.

Breeann, who weighed about 30 pounds and wore her dark hair in pigtails, had been the subject of a frantic search since her parents reported her missing on Aug. 6. She was last seen riding her small pink bike with training wheels in front of the family home on Ode Johnson Street.

A week after her disappearance, a neighbor from the same street, Shawn Morgan, 43, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and tampering with evidence. A probable cause statement said Morgan confessed to finding the girl standing on the ladder at the pool in his yard, grabbed her and took her inside the house, where he suffocated her with a white plastic trash bag.

Morgan told investigators he "felt like it took an hour for the girl to die," according to the statement.

What wasn't clear was why he allegedly did it. Crowder said Morgan did not disclose a motive.

"It's all a mystery," she said.

Morgan made a brief court appearance Tuesday but did not enter a plea. He is due back on court for arraignment on Aug. 30. He is jailed without bond and does not yet have an attorney. Phone messages left on his home phone were not returned.

Crowder said authorities are taking precautions to ensure Morgan's safety. "Put it this way: He went to court in a bulletproof vest," she said.

Neighbors who also live on Ode Johnson Street described Breeann as a quiet, happy girl, always outside tagging along with her brothers, always on her pink bike.

"I've seen her riding that bicycle up and down the street so many times," said Ronnie Newman, 66. "She would wave as she'd pass by. This street is always full of kids."

Newman said his own son went to high school with Morgan. He said Morgan is married with three children ranging in age from about 8 to about 14. He works at a factory in Paragould, Ark., Newman said.

Neighbors described Morgan as quiet but not standoffish. Estelle Floyd, 90, said he comes from a good family and she was not aware of Morgan being in trouble before.

Newman said FBI agents and police knocked on doors throughout the neighborhood at around 2 a.m. Aug. 7, the day after Breeann went missing, then searched the homes. The next morning, as neighbors were gathering to talk about the search, Morgan joined them, he said.

"He came down and talked to us, talking like nothing was going on," Newman said. "We were all wondering how somebody could do something like that, and he was saying the same thing."

Neighbors said the Rodriguez family is friendly but reserved.

"I would see her (Breeann) out in the yard all the time," said next-door neighbor Sharon Haddock, a retiree in her 60s. "She was such a sweet little girl. It's just so tragic."

Floyd said that if such a crime can happen in Senath, it can happen anywhere.

"All I can say is everybody be careful and watch your children," she said.

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Suspect in Mo. girl's death had record in Arkansas

(AP) ST. LOUIS — The man accused of killing a 3-year-old Missouri girl had a criminal record in Arkansas for threatening to blow up the factory where he worked.

Court records obtained by The Associated Press from Greene County, Ark., show that 43-year-old Shawn Morgan of Senath, Mo., pleaded no contest in 2004 to a misdemeanor charge of making a terroristic threat. He served one year of probation.

Morgan was originally charged with felony threatening to cause a catastrophe for notes in a restroom at Prestolite Wire Corp. in Paragould, Ark., in 2002. The notes threatened to blow up the plant unless four employees were fired.

Morgan is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Breeann Rodriguez, a neighbor in Senath. She was reported missing on Aug. 6. Her body was found Tuesday.
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Funeral services today for Breeann Rodriguez
9:06 AM, Aug 20, 2011

Senath, MO (KSDK) - Funeral services will be held today for a three-year-old girl who was murdered in the Missouri bootheel.

Search crews found the body of Breeann Rodriguez Tuesday night on the bank of a drainage ditch near Senath.

Police say a neighbor, 43-year-old Shawn Morgan, killed the girl after seeing her on a ladder near his backyard pool.

Friday night, dozens of people turned out for a prayer vigil in Breeann's hometown.

Four white doves along with pink and white balloons were released in the young girl's memory.

Today's funeral will be held at 4:00 p.m. at the Senath Church of Christ.

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Charges against Shawn Morgan amended, State could pursue death penalty

KENNETT, MO (KAIT) – The man accused of killing 3-year-old Breeann Rodriguez could face the death penalty after Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Stephen Sokoloff announced he was filing amended charges against him.
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There is a video that shows Shawn Morgan at the link.

Home of suspected Southeast Missouri child murderer burns


SENATH, Mo. -- A fire Tuesday morning destroyed the home where accused child murderer Shawn Morgan lived before being arrested. The next day, Morgan was in court to plead not guilty to the charges against him.
Morgan, 43, is charged with killing 3-year-old Breeann Rodriguez, a girl who lived near the home in Senath.

According to Ken Johnson, of the Senath Fire Department, the fire occurred at Morgan's home on Ode Johnson Street at approximately 12:30 a.m., and when crews arrived, the structure was fully involved. Johnson said firefighters were on the scene until about 6 a.m.

Johnson said no one was living at the home at the time of the fire, and the incident is under investigation by the State Fire Marshal's Office.

Legal notices recently published in the Daily Dunklin Democrat said the home was involved in foreclosure proceedings.

In a Dunklin County courtroom Wednesday, Morgan waived his formal arraignment and pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him in the disappearance and death of Rodriguez.

According to Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Stephen P. Sokoloff, another hearing is set for 10 a.m. on Feb. 8.

Judge Stephen Sharp ruled the venue for Morgan's trial will remain in Dunklin County but the jury will be selected and brought from Phelps County.

Morgan is facing multiple charges which include first-degree murder, armed criminal action, tampering with physical evidence in connection with the case, kidnapping and possession of child pornography.

Rodriguez was reported missing from her home in Senath on Aug. 6, while she and her brother were riding their bicycles near their home.

Ten days later the child's remains were located near ditches northeast of Hornersville, Mo., approximately eight miles southeast of her home in Senath.
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Suspected killer of Senath 3-year-old appears in court; death penalty sought
Updated: Feb 08, 2012

KENNETT, MO (KAIT) – The man accused of killing Senath 3-year-old Breeann Rodriguez appeared in a Dunklin County courtroom Wednesday.

According to the Dunklin County Prosecutor's Office, Shawn Morgan's murder trial was set for Monday December 10, with jury selection set to start on December 6. Dunklin County Prosecutor Stephen Sokoloff announced Wednesday he will seek the death sentence against Morgan.

Morgan pleaded not guilty in court in December 2011, and his lawyers filed a change of venue request. The request was granted with stipulations, meaning the trial will still be in Dunklin County, but the jury will come from Phelps County.

Morgan is charged with first degree murder, armed criminal action, tampering with evidence, child kidnapping, and possession of child pornography.

Shawn Morgan is accused of killing 3-year-old Breeann Rodriguez of Senath after police say he admitted to an agent of the Bootheel Drug Task Force that he suffocated Breeann with a trash bag after finding her standing on the ladder of his pool.

Police say he admitted to dumping her body in the floodway ditches on Missouri Highway 164. He then told police he returned home, dismantled the bike she was riding and dumped it in the same floodway ditches.

Breeann went missing Saturday August 6 while riding her bicycle in front of her home. Morgan was arrested and admitted to police that he killed her on Saturday August 13.

Breeann's body was found more than a week later on Tuesday August 16 near the floodway ditches about eight miles southeast of her family's home in Senath.

Morgan is set to appear in court again on December 10.

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lisette, thanks for the above. I am so happy they are seeking the DP. This is so sad!

Accused murderer's brother sentenced for stealing
Oct 12, 2012

The brother of a man accused of the murder of a Dunklin County toddler was sentenced to five years of probation for stealing from the accused murderer. Kevin Morgan, of Senath, Mo., was given a five year prison sentence, suspended in lieu of five yars of supervised probation. Morgan was first arrested and charged in November with felony stealing. According to authorities, Kevin Morgan misused money from the account of his brother, Shawn Morgan, and Shawn's wife, Tonya, as a means to pay his own bills. Kevin Morgan was given power of attorney over his brother's finances after Shawn Morgan's arrest for allegedly murdering a 3-year-old Senath girl.

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The neighbor accused in the Breeann Rodriguez murder has a hearing next month
Nov 01, 2012

The neighbor accused of killing 3-year-old Breeann Rodriguez may not go to trial next month! 44-year-old Shawn Morgan of Senath is charged with 1st-degree murder, child porn possession, child kidnapping, tampering with evidence, and armed criminal action. He pled not guilty. The jury is set to be selected December 6th from Phelps County. They will be sequestered with the trial to begin on the 10th in Kennett. Morgan allegedly suffocated Rodriguez with a trash bag after finding her near his pool August 6th, 2011. He then placed her body in the bag and dumped it along with her bike in a nearby ditch. Police recovered her remains and her bike in that floodway 10 days later. Morgan is in Dunklin County Jail without bond. The prosecutor has yet to file whether or not he will seek the death penalty. But the public defender has filed to continue the trial date. That motion will be considered at a hearing November 14th before Judge Stephen Sharp.

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Thanks so much for the update! This guy needs to fry!

Shawn Morgan, of Senath, accused murderer of three-year-old Breeann Rodriguez, has been scheduled to stand trial beginning, Monday, Nov. 18, 2013, according to Missouri court records. Court proceedings will begin at 8:30 a.m., and will continue every day until the conclusion of the trial.
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