A man accused of killing a 10-year-old girl and nearly severing her head as part of a cannibalistic plot was arraigned on a first-degree murder charge in which prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.
Kevin Ray Underwood, 26, showed no reaction as District Judge Candace Blalock read the charge and set a tentative trial date of May 7 next year.
After Underwood's arrest, police and prosecutors revealed grisly details of the crime, saying Underwood raped the girl's corpse and planned to eat her flesh.
Underwood is accused of smothering Jamie Rose Bolin, his upstairs neighbor in an apartment complex in Purcell, a suburb 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City.
Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty.
The girl was struck on the head, her neck was cut to the bone from ear-to-ear and she was sexually assaulted, according to an autopsy report.
She was reported missing April 12 after failing to return home from a trip to the library. Her nude body was found inside a plastic tub in Underwood's bedroom closet two days later after Underwood raised the suspicions of officers at a police checkpoint and let them search his apartment.
Underwood, who worked as a grocery store stocker in Oklahoma City, reportedly confessed that he killed the girl, telling FBI agents: "Go ahead and arrest me. She is in there. I chopped her up," according to a police affidavit.
{{/usCountry}}Underwood, who worked as a grocery store stocker in Oklahoma City, reportedly confessed that he killed the girl, telling FBI agents: "Go ahead and arrest me. She is in there. I chopped her up," according to a police affidavit.
{{/usCountry}}A judge later granted Underwood's defense attorney's request for a gag order that prohibited attorneys and law enforcement from discussing the case publicly.