Arizona man accused of killing child wants to withdraw plea

An alleged child killer in Arizona who fired his defense team and entered a plea agreement to avoid trial is trying to back out of the deal.

Justin Rector, 31, of Bullhead City has asked Mohave County Superior Court Judge Lee Jantzen to continue a sentencing hearing scheduled next Wednesday in Kingman.

In court documents, Rector stated that he is entitled to withdraw from the plea deal due to a “reasonable manifest injustice” that he did not specify. He said he would explain the alleged injustice when provided opportunity.

Jantzen set a hearing on Monday to consider the motion.

Rector pleaded guilty Dec. 18 to first-degree murder in the September 2014 death of 8-year-old Isabella Grogan-Cannella. The deal required a sentence of life in prison without the opportunity for parole for 35 years.

Police and prosecutor Greg McPhillips have said Rector was left with the victim and her older sister and that Isabella was reported missing after her mother and others returned from a shopping trip to Walmart. Her partially clad body was later found in a makeshift grave about a half-mile from her home.

Neither McPhillips nor Ron Gileo, advisory counsel for the defendant, were immediately available for comment.