As KMOX reported Tuesday, Dawan Ferguson was given a life sentence for the death of his nine-year-old disabled son Christian. St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell joined KMOX in-studio to talk more about the verdict. He explained how he felt when the sentence was announced.
"It was a sense of relief to that it was over. that we were able to bring some closure to this family, bring justice to this family," he said. "Because I've said it over and over again, there's a lot of things that we are responsible for in this job. But what makes this job worth it is when you're able to bring justice to a family like this after 20 years."
Christian's body has never been found, and some speculated that Dawan would lead police to it once he was convicted. But Bell said he's not optimistic about it.
"Unfortunately, I'm not holding my breath," he said. "I've seen enough from this individual to not be encouraged that he would do the right thing."
Bell also talked about the recent closure of a cold case, where authorities found that Gary Muhlberg was responsible for a slew of murders in the 1990s in the area. Bell said he and other officials, like Tim Lohmar and Mike Wood, made a point to work together find him in the name of public safety.
"We have to also recognize that we have to work together and that's been a no brainer," Bell said. "For the residents of St. Louis County in this region, know that we are working together and we are putting the interests of public safety first and foremost."
Bell also touched on the spike in carjackings, saying they've been hosting town halls to hear ideas from community members.
"That is a priority for us. And one thing that we talk about a lot is with low level nonviolent offenders, we're going going to look at alternatives to incarceration," he said. "I want to make sure people understand we don't view this area of crime as low level. And we view this as very serious."
Hear more from St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell on Total Information AM:
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