Missouri Sheriff Reopening 1997 Murder Case

A southwest Missouri sheriff says he will reopen an investigation into a 1997 Springfield girl's death that is linked to a man who was executed Thursday in Texas.

Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott announced Thursday he will reopen the case of Stephanie Mahaney, a 13-year-old who disappeared from her Springfield apartment in 1997. Her body was found in a Greene County pond a month later.

Arnott, who investigated Mahaney's death at the time, says he interviewed Tommy Lynn Sells this week on death row in Texas. Sells was indicted in Mahaney's death, one of three cases prosecutors linked to the killer.

The Springfield News-Leaderreports that Arnott isn't less confident that Sells killed Mahaney but the interview prompted him to review some facts in the case.