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In 4th trial, man convicted of killing girl in 1990

Posted April 02, 2019 7:00 am

The Associated Press

Jennifer Lewis' mother, Sheri McCormick, watches as a sheriff's deputy handcuffs Stanley Liggins after a jury found him guilty on Tuesday, April 2, 2019 in Waterloo, Iowa. In his fourth trial, a jury found Liggins guilty in the 1990 killing of the 9-year-old girl whose body was found in Davenport. (Jeff Reinitz/The Courier via AP) The Associated Press

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) - In his fourth trial, an Iowa jury on Tuesday convicted a man in the 1990 killing of a 9-year-old Illinois girl whose body was found on fire in Davenport.

Jurors found Stanley Liggins, 57, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Jennifer Ann Lewis, according to the Quad-City Times . The Rock Island, Illinois, girl's body was found the night of Sept. 17, 1990, in a field near a Davenport elementary school. She had been sexually abused and strangled, and her body was then doused with gasoline and set aflame.

Liggins has been twice convicted of murder, in 1993 and 1995, but the verdicts were overturned. His last trial ended in a mistrial .

When Judge Marlita Greve read the verdict, Jennifer's mother, Sheri McCormick, exclaimed, "Thank God." McCormick and Lewis' godmother, Mary Maxwell-Rockwell, hugged Scott County prosecutors Mike Walton and Julie Walton after the jurors left the courtroom.

"It was a very hard-fought case over several years," Walton said. "Had a lot of support. Police department stuck in there, sheriff's department, all the agencies that were involved. We had a lot of support."

Liggins' attorneys declined to comment.

After the girl's killing, Liggins quickly became a suspect. He knew Lewis' mother, and witnesses said they saw him talking with the girl. Liggins has long maintained his innocence, and his lawyers argued there was reasonable doubt, in part given a lack of forensic evidence.

The fourth trial was moved to Black Hawk County because of pretrial publicity.

Liggins will be sentenced May 30. First-degree murder in Iowa carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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Information from: Quad-City Times, http://www.qctimes.com

A sheriff's deputy motions for silence as Jennifer Lewis' mother Sheri McCormick and godmother Mary Maxwell-Rockwell react to the verdict finding Stanley Carter Liggins guilty in Jennifer's death on Tuesday April 2, 2019 in Waterloo, Iowa. In his fourth trial, a jury found Liggins guilty in the 1990 killing of the 9-year-old girl whose body was found in Davenport. (Jeff Reinitz/The Courier via AP) The Associated Press

Prosecutors Julie Walton and Mike Walton receive hugs from Sheri McCormick and Mary Maxwell-Rockwell after the verdict finding Stanley Carter Liggins guilty in McCormick's daughter Jennifer Lewis' death on Tuesday, April 2, 2019. in Waterloo, Iowa. In his fourth trial, a jury found Liggins guilty in the 1990 killing of the 9-year-old girl whose body was found in Davenport. (Jeff Reinitz/The Courier via AP) The Associated Press

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