Ohio girl, 9, found dead in trash bin; suspect to appear in court

A 24-year-old Ohio man is scheduled to appear in court Monday morning on suspicion of murdering a 9-year-old girl who lived next door, according to officials and local media reports.

Reann Murphy was last seen playing outside at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in a shared area of the Smithville, Ohio, mobile-home park where she lived, Wayne County Sheriff Travis Hutchinson said at a Sunday news conference. Smithville is about 30 miles southwest of Akron.

Officials received a report that she was missing at 8:28 p.m. Saturday and began a search, Hutchinson said. About five hours later, Reann’s body was found in a Dumpster near her home, he said.

By midday Sunday, officials arrested Jerrod Metsker, 24, who “was a neighbor and was acquainted to the victim and her family,” Hutchinson said, adding that officials had found “no motive at this time.”

Wayne County Prosecutor Dan Lutz told the Wooster Daily Record that Metsker would be arraigned on a charge of aggravated murder Monday morning. Further details were scant Sunday evening as to how Reann died or why officials suspected Metsker of killing her.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family,” Lutz said at the news conference, according to the Associated Press. “It’s a horrific incident to take place at any time, especially during the holidays.”

Reann’s father, Richard Murphy, told the Daily Record: “All she did was love people.” He said he wanted the “worst for the guy” who killed her, and he declined to comment further.