Montgomery County Mayor Backs Police Actions Before Girl's Death
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A suburban Philadelphia mayor is defending the police response to a recent encounter between a young girl and the neighbor charged with killing her.
Souderton Mayor John Reynolds says his police department did everything "by the book" in responding to reports that 24-year-old James Lee Troutman had locked two girls in his apartment last month.
Troutman is charged with raping and killing one of them, 9-year-old Skyler Kauffman, on Monday.
Her mother says police discounted the April 18 encounter when they failed to file charges.
The mayor and other officials at the complex when Skyler went missing Monday night say neither distraught family members nor police brought up the earlier encounter during the search.
Police focused on Troutman only after noticing blood on his shoes as they went door-to-door.
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