Man indicted in Bullhead City girl’s death

KINGMAN, ARIZ. — A Bullhead City man arrested in the strangulation death of his friend’s young daughter was indicted by a Mohave County grand jury Thursday.

Justin Rector, 26, was charged with first-degree murder, child abuse, kidnapping and abandonment of a dead body.

Eight-year-old Isabella “Bella” Grogan-Cannella vanished from her home late in the evening on Sept. 1. A massive search led to the discovery of her body on Sept. 3 in a shallow grave less than a mile from her home.

A police detective affidavit indicated that Rector’s shoe prints were found at the burial site and that Rector shoplifted a change of clothes from Wal-Mart in the hours after Bella disappeared.

Police Chief Brian Williamson declined comment when asked if there was any suspicion that Bella was sexually assaulted. Prosecutor Greg McPhillips said that question could be answered through DNA testing at an FBI crime lab.

Police spokeswoman Emily Fromelt said it could be 30 days before those test results were available.

Rector is being held in the Mohave County jail without bond. Arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 19 before Mohave County Superior Court Judge Lee Jantzen.