Security heavy at Arizona child-slaying arraignment

KINGMAN, Ariz. — Death threats targeting an alleged child killer prompted heavy security at the Mohave County Courthouse on Friday.

Security personnel were posted outside and inside the courthouse, and nine officers were present in the courtroom as public Defender Harry Moore entered not guilty pleas on behalf of Justin Rector, 26, of Bullhead City.

Jail Commander Don Bischoff said monitors picked up jail phone chatter triggering concern for Rector’s safety. He said the threats involved inmates rather than the general public.

“We are aware of threats on his life,” Bischoff said after the arraignment.

Outside the courthouse, Moore also expressed concern for his client’s well-being.

“We’ve received nothing directly to my office as far as threats or anything like that,” Moore said. “But we are investigating social media to see what is brewing and there are many things brewing there.”

After the arraignment, security formed a human wall separating courtroom spectators from Rector as he was led away by a corrections detail. The defendant passed by his mother and sister who were seated in the front row.

Two rows behind them sat Tania Grogan, the mother of the victim. She was accompanied by her boyfriend and a representative of a victim’s assistance group.

Rector is charged with kidnapping, child abuse, first-degree murder and abandonment of a dead body in connection with the death of Isabella “Bella” Grogan-Cannella. The county medical examiner concluded that the 8-year-old girl died of strangulation.

Police reports indicate that Rector admitted smoking methamphetamine much of the day before Bella was reported missing late Sept. 1. An affidavit stated that Rector had been playing hide-and-seek with Bella and her 10-year-old sister but both were gone when the sister came out of a bathroom of their duplex in Bullhead City.

Bella’s body was found in a shallow grave about a half-mile from her home, roughly 36 hours after she went missing. Police said Rector’s shoe prints were found at the grave site and that he admitted shoplifting a change of clothes from Wal-Mart within a few hours of the girl’s disappearance.

A police affidavit said that Rector, when questioned after he was initially detained for shoplifting, did not deny involvement in Bella’s disappearance before requesting an attorney.

Superior Court Judge Lee Jantzen told Rector he could be executed if the state pursued the death penalty. He explained natural life or 25-year minimum prison sentences were also possible if he were convicted.

Prosecutor Greg McPhillips said he has not made a decision on the death penalty. He said he awaits results of the ongoing investigation, police reports and crime lab results which could determine if Bella was sexually assaulted.

Rector is being held without bond. Jantzen will conduct a Sept. 30 hearing regarding media requests to use still and video cameras in his courtroom during Rector-related legal proceedings.

Rector is schedule to appear at a case management hearing Oct. 28.