Missing 9-Year-Old Skylar Kauffman Found Dead

**Mommyof2** · May 10th, 2011, 06:02 AM

SOUDERTON, Pa. -- The search for a missing 9-year-old girl in Montgomery County has ended in tragedy.

Police say Skylar Kauffman was found dead a little after midnight near the spot in Souderton where she went missing several hours earlier.

Kauffman was last seen playing in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Chestnut Street around 5:30 yesterday afternoon.

Police say an Amber Child Abduction Alert was issued and a search began around 7:00 last night.

Kauffman was found between the apartment building and a nearby cemetery a few hours later.

They say they think the suspect might be someone who lives in the area.

No arrests have been made.

http://www.wfmz.com/news/27834522/detail.html

She was found to be missing and they feared she had been kidnapped. This is just heartbreaking I hope they find who did this and quick!

**Mommyof2** · May 10th, 2011, 06:10 AM

Well in the time it took me to post this the story had been updated..

SOUDERTON, Pa. - Police are reporting a quick arrest in the murder of a 9-year-old girl in Souderton, Montgomery County.

The 40-year-old neighbor is in the process of being charged in the killing of 9-year-old Skylar Kaufmann, Souderton Police Chief James P. Leary told Fox 29 News early Tuesday morning.

The suspect is still being interviewed and is not being unidentified until charges are officially filed, Leary said.

She was out playing. She didn't return for dinner. She was quite late. Her family became concerned. They contacted us. As it darkened, we became concerned. When it became full dark, we were very concerned," Leary said. "We mobilized our forces, and we conducted a very, very careful search of the general area and a very specific search of the local area. And unfortunately we found her body in the Dumpster."

A significant amount of blood and a trail of that with some of Kaufmann's belongings, including her boots, led police to the area where her body was found wrapped in a blanket, Leary said.

Police believe the 9-year-old was beaten during an assault with a 40-year-old neighbor of the same apartment complex.

Officers interviewed the man once, felt something was amiss, then questioned him a second time, which is when they allegedly spotted blood.

"Each time they noticed something more and more alarming about his conduct and his response to the questions," Leary said. "… As they interviewed him, they noticed some blood on his person. And we have been able to gather some physical evidence that has linked him to the crime."

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/...aufmann_051011

No name on the neighbor yet. :(

**Mommyof2** · May 10th, 2011, 07:05 AM

Adding more info as it comes out

Souderton Police Chief James P. Leary told Fox 29 News that young Skylar Kauffman — last seen playing outside her parents' apartment in the borough of Souderton Monday — appeared to have put up a struggle against her attacker that could ultimately help convict him....

"Unfortunately this was a terribly violent crime, but with violent crimes comes a tremendous amount of physical evidence," the police chief told Fox 29 in an interview on camera. "There's no doubt the evidence will link the suspect, who is the perpetrator ... the perpetrator and the victim to the crime."...

"There are indications that she struggled and I really, really am so saddened by her death, but I hope that in that struggle that there was an exchange of evidence so we can link him even more completely to the crime," Leary said.

He told Fox 29 that they believed "the first violent encounter" took place in the basement of the apartment building.

The man was arrested after officers knocking on doors in the apartment building became suspicious when he answered the door.

Leary said he expected the man to be charged within hours.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42969243...me_and_courts/

**Robynne** · May 10th, 2011, 09:09 AM

I hope they get this guy. It sounds like an easy catch though. He doesn't sound like a very smart killer.
Poor girl, I hope she wasn't in too much pain.

**Darsa** · May 10th, 2011, 10:47 AM

GDI! It kills me to read these; I think the thing that offends me the most is that he threw her away, like garbage, in the DUMPSTER. That just really really hurts my heart so very much. I hope she got a couple of good shots at him before he committed the murder, the poor girl.

**Mommyof2** · May 10th, 2011, 11:27 AM

These stories kill me too. I can't help but to think of the parent/s, you get up that day with your baby safe and sound and go to sleep that night to her being gone forever. The idea of that just messes with my head.

**AngelFire** · May 10th, 2011, 11:30 AM

He threw her away like trash. That alone tells you he has no regards for human life! Kill the soulless bastard, and let's get on with life

**Mommyof2** · May 10th, 2011, 05:06 PM

And we finally have a suspect named!

Police have identified the man accused of abducting, assaulting and killing a 9-year-old Montgomery County girl Monday night.

James Lee Troutman, 25, a neighbor, has been charged in the abduction and death of Skylar Kauffman.

After initial interviews, police said, they found inconsistencies in Troutman's story. Police said Troutman did not seem affected by the girl's disappearance. Through their investigation, police said, they had enough information to take him into custody.

Troutman was expected to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon across the street from the Souderton Gardens apartment complex where both he and the victim lived.

Police said Troutman had blood on his shoes and acted strangely when questioned. Kauffman apparently tried to fight off the attacker and there was quite a bit of blood that led to the container in which her body, wrapped in a blanket, was found, police said

A prayer vigil will be held at 203 Chestnut St., Souderton, at 7 p.m. for the young girl. Grace Bible Church has also invited the community to gather at the church at 423 N. Main St., Souderton, across from Souderton park, to pray from 6 to 7 p.m. in the main sanctuary.

http://pottsmerc.com/articles/2011/0...ewmode=default

**Rawrehz** · May 10th, 2011, 05:31 PM

His glorious mug to throw darts at:

Part I am confused about:
"Police believe the 9-year-old was beaten during an assault with a 40-year-old neighbor of the same apartment complex."

Troutman is 25. Did they just not want to give too much info out about him yet or what? Why'd they say 40 at first? Not like it's a big deal, just had me curious.

**AngelFire** · May 10th, 2011, 05:33 PM

What did he do to her? I wonder if he had any history of either assualting people or of some mental illness. His stare is blank

**tmdgirl** · May 11th, 2011, 12:50 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110511/...ert_girl_slain

SOUDERTON, Pa. – The brutal rape and killing of a 9-year-old girl might never have happened if police had taken an earlier encounter between the child and suspect more seriously, the girl's mother said Tuesday.

Heather Gebhard told reporters that police "blew me off" last month when she complained about an incident involving her daughter, Skyler Kauffman, and the man charged in her death.

James Lee Troutman confessed to killing the girl late Monday in the basement of the suburban Philadelphia apartment complex where they both lived, police said.

Troutman eventually told authorities that he strangled the girl with his hands and that her head hit the basement floor "a couple of times at least," according to the criminal complaint. Investigators said Troutman told them that "it was like whiteout" and that he "snapped."

State police issued an Amber Alert. The girl's body was discovered in a nearby trash bin, wrapped in a blood-soaked comforter, a few hours after she didn't come home for dinner after playing outside.

Kauffman was killed three weeks after an encounter with Troutman that should have drawn more attention from police, Gebhard said.

According to investigators, Skyler and a friend were near Troutman's apartment on April 18 and needed to use the bathroom. He invited them in, but they got spooked when they saw pictures of naked women on the walls, according to the complaint.

Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman on Tuesday defended the decision not to charge Troutman last month.

"You have to have a crime take place in order to file charges," Ferman said. "Everyone did what they were supposed to do, and unfortunately it wasn't enough to prevent the death of this child."

Troutman did not enter a plea at his arraignment or speak, except to acknowledge the charges including murder, kidnapping and rape. He is being held without bail.

Across the street from the court office, a crowd of nearly 50 people yelled at him and screamed obscenities as he was led inside.

Obviously a very sick individual here. He needs to be ass-raped daily while in prison.

Note: If Skyler lived in the same apartment complex as this person, why didn't she and her friend go to her home to use the bathroom. What on earth would make them knock on his door to use his bathroom?

**Tundratot** · May 11th, 2011, 02:29 PM

Yeah, I'm thinking that I'd have to agree that there was no cause for the police to look into his behavior before he killed her. That incident may have been what interested him in her . . . . but you can't go after a guy because he has pictures of nude women on his walls.

**AngelFire** · May 11th, 2011, 05:35 PM

I will admit that had it been my kid telling me that story, I would have taken precautions. I wouldn' have expected Police to do something when he clearly hadn't committed a crime....yet. But I would have taken measure to make sure my child had no more of those encounters....Poor woman was working, kids sleeping and a monster lurking.

**TheMorningStar** · May 16th, 2011, 11:08 AM

Hours after discovering the Souderton girl's bludgeoned and beaten body wrapped in a comforter and tossed into a nearby trash bin, police arrested the same 24-year-old neighbor who allegedly locked the girl in his apartment and threatened to expose himself to her last month. Now, he was charged with her murder.
If police had only done something the first time, tragedy could have been prevented, said the girl's mother, Heather Gebhard. Instead, she said, "they blew me off."

Prosecutors say they believe James Lee Troutman led the brown-eyed child who neighbors described as outgoing and friendly into a basement at the Souderton Garden Apartments just before 5 p.m. Monday.
There, in the dark, he allegedly raped and strangled her, banging her head against the concrete floor over and over again. And once he had disposed of her body, they said, he quietly crossed the small parking lot back to his apartment and sat down to dinner with his fiancee.

Across the street, officers continued to block off the basement where Skyler spent the last minutes of her life, her blood still pooled on the floor, spattered across a nearby water heater and streaked along a path leading from the building to the trash bin where she was found hours after Gebhard first reported her missing.
"The child obviously struggled," Souderton Police Chief James P. Leary said.

Police had been called to Souderton Gardens on April 18 after Skyler and a playmate reported that he had locked them in his apartment and offered to show them "his bird" after they asked to use his bathroom. His walls were covered with photos of naked women, the girls reportedly told police.He allegedly let them go only after one of the girls began screaming. Although officers interviewed Troutman at the time, no charges were filed. And despite criticism from the family Tuesday, authorities defended that decision.
"You have to have a crime take place in order to file charges," Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said. "Everyone did what they were supposed to do and unfortunately it wasn't enough to prevent the death of this child."

As investigators fanned out across Souderton Gardens on Monday night, an officer spotted what appeared to be blood on Troutman's tennis shoes. He initially told them he had had a nosebleed, according to the probable-cause affidavit in his case. But detectives found more clothes saturated with blood in his apartment.Troutman's fiancee told investigators she thought he had been working out at a nearby school at the time of Skyler's disappearance. And while she had heard screams, "wailing" and "crashing sounds" coming from the communal basement they shared with three other units, she called Troutman and he assured her everything would be OK, she said according to the affidavit.
When confronted with the mounting evidence against him, Troutman reportedly confessed. He told investigators he led the girl into the basement, strangled her, and then blacked out.
"I got rid of her," he is quoted as saying in the affidavit. "Once I took her down [there], I knew she could get me in trouble."

http://articles.philly.com/2011-05-1...quad-car-child

EDIT: The Fiance speaks out

Heather Clemens said she never had a clue.
"It was something I never expected - not him, or the person I thought he was," she said. "Had I known he was vicious at heart, I would have done everything to make sure he was not out in society."
She was speaking of James L. Troutman, 24, her fiancé and roommate, and now the suspect in the killing of 9-year-old Skyler Kauffman.

She said he had Asperger's syndrome, a disorder characterized by difficulties in social interactions.
The two met at her mother's apartment in Souderton, where Troutman was a neighbor. Her first impression was that Troutman was a very gentle guy but a bit introverted.
"I never met anyone so sweet," she said.
They would take long walks to check out the scenery, go out for pizza, and joke together.
"Every day was a date," she said.
The two moved in together three weeks to a month after they met. He was soft-spoken and protective, Clemens said. He treated her well.
Still, "I knew something was a bit off about him," she said. He had trouble communicating. When she asked about it, he told her he had Asperger's.
"He had a hard time understanding things," Clemens said. "You have to break it down and tell it again."
Her sister said "he became frustrated when he was not understood. He can't articulate as well as the rest of us."
Unemployed, Troutman spent his days playing games on his phone, eating, sleeping, and occasionally doing favors or errands for others.
"He is a favor-doer," Heather Clemens said.
Troutman kept a tote full of Legos and enjoyed making buildings, taking them apart, and then making something else. "He made me a heart once," she said.
He would also do odd jobs and yard work for friends and family, she said.
She was so blinded by her view of him, she said, that she never thought to connect him to the screams she heard coming from the basement of the apartment complex Monday.
"None of us suspected something of this nature," her sister said, calling Troutman a "monster."
After he was arrested, Clemens quickly accepted the police version of the man she knew. Among the first things she did was remove her engagement ring.
"He didn't just break my heart; he pretty much killed it," Clemens said. "He broke and killed the heart of this poor family and this community."

http://articles.philly.com/2011-05-1...artment-sister

**Tundratot** · May 17th, 2011, 01:56 AM

Police had been called to Souderton Gardens on April 18 after Skyler and a playmate reported that he had locked them in his apartment and offered to show them "his bird" after they asked to use his bathroom. His walls were covered with photos of naked women, the girls reportedly told police.He allegedly let them go only after one of the girls began screaming. Although officers interviewed Troutman at the time, no charges were filed. And despite criticism from the family Tuesday, authorities defended that decision.

That is more information than we had received before. I thought they just saw a lot of porn on the walls and that he was creepy. If he attempted to keep them there and they had to scream to escape, the police could have charged him with attempted kidnapping at a minimum, I think.

I also have to wonder at his fiancee's taste, that she didn't object to the porn on the walls. I wouldn't be very sanguine about it. But maybe I'm old-fashioned that way.

**Rockin Ma** · May 17th, 2011, 01:40 PM

Wonder if he locked them in and then they asked to use the bathroom as an option to escape?

**princessgrandma** · May 17th, 2011, 01:59 PM

God, I cannot even imagine being a parent and finding out that something like this had happened to my child. There would be no need for an arrest b/c by the time I was done, there wouldn't have been enough left to arrest.

This is one of those times that I really really hope that there really is "prison justice." He needs to be tortured in the worst way and then slowly put out of his misery.

**Rockin Ma** · May 17th, 2011, 09:39 PM

JAMES LEE TROUTMAN ... Hearing delayed James Lee Troutman will not be brought before a judge Thursday afternoon, and might not be in court this week.The 24-year-old Souderton resident is accused of kidnapping, raping and murdering 9-year-old Skyler Kauffman last week, who lived in the same apartment complex that he did.The office of District Judge Kenneth Deatelhauser of Souderton confirmed that the preliminary hearing, originally scheduled for 1 p.m.

Thursday, had been continued to a date and time to be determined.According to an affidavit of probable cause, Troutman confessed to killing the girl.Souderton Borough Police reported that Troutman said that he "snapped"and "it was like a white-out."Troutman has retained an attorney, Craig Penglase of the Doylestown law firm Penglase & B... ...

http://www.pennsylvania.statenews.ne...p?rid=45479757 points you to read the rest at delco times but when I click all I get is a white screen.

The attorney for a man accused of kidnapping, raping and murdering a 9-year-old Souderton girl last week intends to have his client evaluated for mental illness.
"Of course we are going to carefully evaluate all the evidence but anytime you have allegations like this you always have to look at mental health issues, particularly since my client has no real prior record," Norristown attorney John I. McMahon Jr. said Monday.
McMahon, a well-known defense lawyer who once served as a county prosecutor, was appointed Friday by Montgomery County President Judge Richard J. Hodgson to represent James Lee Troutman.
Troutman, 24, of the 200 block of East Chestnut Street, Souderton, is charged with first- and second-degree murder and related offenses for the May 9 sexual assault and killing of Skyler Kauffman at the Souderton Gardens Apartments where both resided. A first-degree murder conviction could potentially carry a death penalty.
Authorities allege that Troutman grabbed the girl outside, took her to the basement of the apartment building in which he lived and then raped her prior to killing her. The young girl was beaten and strangled to death before her body, wrapped in a comforter, was dumped into a large trash bin at the apartment complex.
Noting that some media accounts of the incident report that Troutman may have Asperger's syndrome, which is related to autism, McMahon said "it is only prudent" to have his client's mental health professionally evaluated.
McMahon said he has already brought on Dr. Timothy J. Michals, a forensic psychiatrist, as part of the defense team to evaluate Troutman.
"His mental health will be very relevant to any defense we present," said McMahon.
Authorities claim Troutman has confessed to the killing, telling them he banged her head on the basement floor "a couple of times at least" while he was choking her to death. Authorities quote Troutman as saying, "It was like a white out ..." and that he had "snapped."
McMahon said he hoped to meet with his client Monday at the county prison where Trout-man is being held without bail.
Troutman's preliminary hearing was scheduled for Thursday but, because McMahon just received the case last Friday, it has been postponed until May 27.

"I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who just want to throw a rope over a tree limb and hang him without a trial," said McMahon.
A crowd of people last week angrily screamed at Troutman and shouted obscenities at him as he was taken to a patrol car following his arraignment on the charges against him.
"I do not sit in judgment of any client," said McMahon. "He is entitled to a trial and I will do my very best to represent him."
McMahon will be going up against the county's top prosecutor and one of her top aides.
District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said she, personally, will prosecute the case against Troutman with Chief of Trials Deputy District Attorney Thomas W. McGoldrick sitting as second chair.
This is the first case that Ferman has taken herself since she was sworn in as district attorney in 2008.
"I have an office of top-notch prosecutors and have always said I would take something only of such a serious nature that it warrants the attention of the district attorney," said Ferman. "This is such a case."
Ferman, the former first assistant district attorney who has served 15 years in the office, prosecuted numerous cases until having to take on more administrative chores after becoming the boss.
"I never concern myself with the opponent," said McMahon. "My interest is my client."

"The Boss" hasn't prosecuted cases in like three years. Seems determined for this little girl. I like it!

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/loca...f02823f7d.html

**Silvahalo** · May 17th, 2011, 10:31 PM

So it wasn't just that he was creepy but locking them in and threatening to expose himself--that is far more of a concern. wow. dunno, but after such a thing i would have had my daughter always in close vicinity, no way letting her stay out 'till dark with that sicko so close. But that's just me and not judging the parents as I'm not even clear just how that incident went down; but it does seem they were alarmed and scoffed at how the police responded to it.

My god, the fiancée heard Skyler's last moments. I guess i'm just to curious of a person, i think i would have checked out "wailing" and "thumping" sounds.
I feel for her too as she was living with this evil fuck and didn't realize what was missing beneath his fetid skin.
Deepest sympathies to the parents, but my heart is with little Skyler. It literally aches for her.
She was hunted by a predator, not an animal hunting, just a wasted, wicked soul.
I hope he pays with his last breath.

Rest in peace little Skyler Kauffman...sweet child.

**Jerri Blank** · September 15th, 2011, 11:06 AM

Court asked to toss statements in Pa. girl slaying

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A man charged with the rape and murder of a 9-year-old suburban Philadelphia girl is asking a court to bar a jury from hearing statements he made to investigators.

Twenty-four-year-old James Lee Troutman is charged in Montgomery County with murder, rape, and other counts in the May 9 killing of Skyler Kauffman of Souderton. Prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty if he is convicted of first-degree murder.

The (Pottstown) Mercury (http://bit.ly/pTGu7w ) says defense attorney Craig Penglase filed court papers Tuesday arguing that his client's right to counsel and against self-incrimination were violated during 13 hours of interrogation.

Prosecutors will have a chance to challenge the request in a hearing before the scheduled Jan. 9 trial.

http://www.chron.com/news/article/Co...ng-2169407.php

**Silvahalo** · September 15th, 2011, 06:47 PM

Children are the light that leads us through the darkest part of life. Without them, we are but in the dark. Hold them close.
Skylar may the heaven's grace your face, the angels rejoice in your return and weep for the life that was taken from you.
Rest in peace Skylar Kauffman.

**TheZeitgeist** · September 15th, 2011, 10:20 PM

I remember this kid well. Poor Skylar's the one who had a run-in with the Chudd resulting in cops getting called weeks before Chudd killed the smiling little Buddha girl. WTF went down there? How'd he it get away with that one? Still no details.

But what I think about most is in that original encounter with the Chudd (something about him not wanting to let them leave his apartment while exposing himself, or asking if they wanted to see 'it' or something heinous) there were two girls, Skylar and her un-named friend. How she must feel, how she'll go through life knowing just how miserable it can be being a girl in a world full of Chudds. Fucking yuck.

UPDATE: Wow, maybe I should read the whole thread:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110511/...ert_girl_slain

**Kaylara** · September 16th, 2011, 04:56 AM

Quoth the Raven: "404"

**Dakota Valkyrie** · September 26th, 2011, 05:02 PM

Whining shenanigans:

The Montgomery County district attorney's office is not providing all the information a lawyer needs to defend the Souderton man accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and then killing a 9-year-old girl, according to the attorney.

Defense attorney William Craig Penglase, who represents 24-year-old James Lee Troutman, made the allegation in a motion he filed Monday in Montgomery County Court.
[...]

District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, who is prosecuting the case with Trials Chief Deputy District Attorney Thomas W. McGoldrick, has given notice that she will seek the death penalty against Troutman if he is convicted of first-degree murder.

The case is scheduled for trial in January.

In his motion, Penglase asks the court to throw out the case against his client or to order the district attorney's office to provide him with the information he says he needs.

Specifically, Penglase said in the motion, prosecutors have refused to provide him with a bill of particulars detailing the facts and circumstances on which the prosecution will rely at trial in an attempt to prove his client guilty of each charge against him.

Penglase said in the motion he needs this information to determine the defenses available to his client as well as to avoid surprises that could prevent his client from receiving a fair trial.

In addition, according to Penglase, the district attorney's office has not provided him with a list of general witnesses that it intends to call on at trial and any experts that the prosecution intends to present as witnesses.

Prosecutors Monday could not immediately be reached for comment on Penglase's motion.

However, in a Sept. 14 letter refusing to provide Penglase with a bill of particulars, McGoldrick said that the office already has given him 2,693 pages of witness statements, police reports, search warrants and other court documents, expert reports, mental health treatments records as well as 744 photographs, the audio tapes of 911 calls, details on the aggravating circumstances that will be used to seek the death penalty, bills of information detailing the charges against Troutman and a 35-page criminal complaint.

"You and your client are fully aware of the specific facts of this case and the specific charges and penalties that your client is facing," McGoldrick said in the letter. "Therefore your request for a bill of particulars is inappropriate."

A hearing on this and other pretrial motions is slated to begin in October.
[...]

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/crim...93daa6019.html

**princessgrandma** · September 26th, 2011, 06:48 PM

It's all a formality anyway. He did it.

I suppose they gotta whine about something.

**cubby** · September 26th, 2011, 07:38 PM

Sounds like that defense lawyer has been taking Jose Baezzzzz lessons!

**Dakota Valkyrie** · October 7th, 2011, 10:18 AM

A Souderton man accused of killing a 9-year-old girl who was his neighbor allegedly told a friend in the days leading up to the murder that he wanted to “snap” the victim’s neck because he was angry at the girl, prosecutors contend in court papers.

The alleged statement made by accused child killer James Lee Troutman and events leading up to it should be allowed as trial evidence of Troutman’s “other bad acts,” Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman argued in court papers filed Thursday.
[...]

“According to (witnesses), about a week before the murder, the defendant expressed his anger towards the victim. Upon seeing the victim at the apartment complex, the defendant stated, ‘That was one of the girls who got me in trouble,’” Ferman and Deputy District Attorney Thomas W. McGoldrick wrote in court papers.

“The defendant then stated that he wanted to ‘snap her neck,’” wrote Ferman and McGoldrick, alleging Troutman expressed his anger to his fiancée Heather Clemens and Clemens’ sister.

Authorities alleged Troutman was “angry at the girls” and believed that he had been falsely accused by the girls in connection with an alleged April 18 incident at Troutman’s apartment during which the girls reportedly became frightened after Troutman locked the door to the apartment while the girls were inside using the bathroom.
[...]

Judge William R. Carpenter is expected to hold a hearing on Ferman’s “other bad acts” request sometime before Troutman’s trial begins in January.
[...]

According to court papers, Troutman invited Kauffman and a friend of hers into his apartment so that Kauffman could use the bathroom.

“According to the girls, the defendant locked the door to the apartment while the girls were inside. While inside the bathroom, the girls saw magazine pictures on the walls of semi-clothed women,” Ferman and McGoldrick contended. “The girls became nervous and afraid, and they attempted to leave the apartment.”

Kauffman allegedly spoke to Troutman as her friend unlocked the apartment door.

“At that time, the girls ran from the defendant’s apartment. (Kauffman’s) friend was very upset over the incident,” Ferman alleged.

The father of Kauffman’s friend later confronted Troutman about the alleged incident and demanded to know what Troutman had done to his daughter, according to court papers.

During the confrontation, Souderton police responded to the scene and spoke to Troutman, the two girls, Kauffman’s mother and the father of Kauffman’s friend, court papers alleged. No arrests were made, according to court papers.

But Ferman and McGoldrick alleged in court papers that, according to Kauffman’s friend, Kauffman later told her that sometime after the April 18 incident Troutman saw Kauffman and said to her, “Why did you call the cops?”

Court papers indicate Clemens, Troutman’s girlfriend, has told authorities that “in the days following the April 18 incident, the defendant was very angry at Skyler and her friend.”

“According to Clemens, the defendant was angry at the girls and he thought that he had been falsely accused regarding the incident on April 18,” Ferman and McGoldrick alleged.
[...]

http://timesherald.com/articles/2011...d464630592.txt

**HeatherHabilatory** · October 7th, 2011, 11:08 AM

What an idiot. Does he not realize that he'd be the prime suspect if she goes missing? Hello, Einstein!

**Jerri Blank** · January 10th, 2012, 06:45 AM

"I'm a monster, I'm sorry"

With tears streaming down his face, a Souderton man gave a statement confessing to the murder and sexual assault of a young neighbor girl shortly after authorities found the missing girl’s lifeless body in a trash bin at the apartment complex where both lived, according to a Montgomery County detective.

“I’m a monster, I’m sorry, I’m a monster,” James Lee Troutman repeatedly told authorities. “How can you stand sitting across from me?”

Those are the words that James Lee Troutman repeatedly used in multiple statements he gave to detectives in admitting to the murder and sexual assault of 9-year-old Skyler Kauffman in Souderton last May, according to the testimony of Detective Christopher Kuklentz.

After confessing to the killing, Troutman also repeatedly asked detectives to kill him, claiming he could not live the rest of his life in prison, said Kuklentz.

Kuklentz read those statements in court Monday morning during a pretrial hearing on a defense motion to suppress Troutman’s statements at the time of his trial.

Troutman, 25, formerly of the Souderton Gardens apartment complex, is charged with first- and second-degree murder, kidnapping and related offenses for the May 9 sexual assault and killing of Kauffman.

The county coroner listed the child’s death as a homicide, caused by asphyxia and multiple blunt injuries to the head.

District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, who is personally prosecuting the case, has said she will seek the death penalty for Troutman if he is convicted of first degree murder.

Troutman, wearing a navy blue jump suit issued by the county prison where he has been held without bail since his arrest on May 10, showed no emotion on hearing his words read at the Monday hearing.[...]

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/crim...97fc6043c.html

**Darsa** · January 10th, 2012, 09:44 AM

After confessing to the killing, Troutman also repeatedly asked detectives to kill him, claiming he could not live the rest of his life in prison, said Kuklentz.

I'd say we should grant his request, eye for an eye, but considering it's what he wants, I think we should let him suffer in jail for a long loooonnnnng time.