Taped confession of girls' kidnapper details abductions

THROUGH THE WINDOW

By Andrea L. Buchanan ~ Southeast Missourian

JACKSON, Mo. -- In a videotaped confession, Samuel Farrow Jr. describes every parent's nightmare: The abduction of a child from her home and the abuse and rape she suffered.

The videotape was played in court Tuesday, the first day of a bench trial before Circuit Court Judge John Grimm.

In his confession, Farrow described how in October 2000, he watched two sisters through a bedroom window while they slept for a week before he kidnapped the youngest, then took her to his apartment and raped her.

He said it was the second time he stole a child through that same window. The first victim was the daughter of a friend. The second was a stranger's child.

Farrow, 24, faces 16 criminal charges ranging from kidnapping and rape to furnishing pornographic material to minors and statutory sodomy.

The charges involve two girls, the first 6 years old, the other, 4. Both lived at different times in the same mobile home in Scott City, Mo., and both had slept in the same bedroom.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle is asking the judge to give Farrow 11 life sentences.

Defense attorney Al Lowes objected to the confession and most of the physical evidence collected being used as evidence.

Some of the evidence includes a child's panties, used duct tape found in Farrow's apartment, as well as the little girl's palm print found on a soda bottle in Farrow's truck.

In addition, officers found a black plastic bag containing 89 pieces of women's clothing, mostly undergarments, that Farrow admitted to wearing in private.

'Three bricks short'

Lowes' contention is that Farrow is mentally deficient. He said that being held by police without charges for more than six hours was cruel and unusual punishment.

He said police hoodwinked his client, "who's three bricks short of a load," into confessing and signing consent forms that allowed police to search his residence. He said Farrow should have had a lawyer with him much earlier.

Although Swingle agreed that tests show Farrow having below-average intelligence, he's neither retarded nor insane.

Police testified that Farrow was well aware of his rights when he chose to confess.

"Did he look as blank to you then as he does now?" Lowes asked one officer.

Police testified that Farrow seemed fine.

Police from several area law enforcement agencies testified about searching for a little girl who was reported kidnapped, finding her and learning what had happened to her.

Parents watching

Listening to their testimony and Farrow's confession, three sets of parents, those of the two little girls and Farrow's, wept. Sometimes the graphic details were too much for the youngest girl's parents to bear. They walked out of the courtroom.

Farrow sat quietly throughout the first day's testimony except when the judge asked him if he were sure he wanted a bench trial.

"Yes, sir," Farrow answered.

The 4-year-old's mother also testified. She described the morning of Nov. 2, 2000, as one of spiraling panic when she realized one of her children was missing and that the window above the girl's bed was open.

Police focused on Farrow as a suspect after the mother of the 6-year-old called them. She heard about news reports on the kidnapping.

A one-time friend of Farrow's, the woman reported that she awoke one morning in July to find her daughter disoriented in the living room.

The girl told her a wild tale of how "Sam" had taken her through the window, drove her far away and did "nasty things" to her.

The girl's parents thought she had experienced a bad dream until they learned of the second child's abduction.

Farrow admitted he lost his nerve when he molested the first girl because she cried so much. He drove her home the same night.

The second time, he wore a ski mask and gloves and used duct tape to cover the girl's mouth, bind her hands and cover her eyes.

When a detective asked him why he was attracted to little girls, Farrow's response was practical. He admitted that he thought about kidnapping women, but children are easier to carry.

"I guess because bigger ones I know I can't pick up. ... I know I wouldn't be able to get them ... out of the window, or whatever," Farrow said in his confession.

Two psychiatrists who have examined Farrow are expected to testify during the three-day trial, one for the defense and one for the prosecution.

Since it's a bench trial, Grimm will rule after the defense presents its case whether the confession, as well as much of the physical evidence in the case, will be considered when he decides the verdict.

abuchanan@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160