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Shaun Earl Arender, an apparent stranger to the girl. He was already in jail on unrelated burglary and drug-posession charges.
Police have charged the man with capital murder. Investigators said they believe that Arender was "in the course of committing or attempting to commit the offense of aggravated sexual assault" against the girl, according to a Police affidavit. It also stated that when questioned by police, Shaun would not give a statement, but put his head on the table and cried. Two days earlier, while in custody on the burglary charge, he was taken to the a hospital for 'depression' after cutting himself with a piece of glass. His bond was set at $2.5 million.
Family members of the slain girl said that Arender did not appear to have had any connection to Hannah. It appears that she fell victim to a home invasion abduction, and was snatched sometime early in the morning. Given Arenders burglary history, it's possible that he was intending on burglarizing the families home, and Hannah ended up falling victim to a spur of the moment crime. Unless Mr. Arender talks, (assuming of course he ends up being the perpetrator), no one will ever be sure.
One thing is for certain: Home invasion abductions (cases where someone snatches a child from their own home in the middle of the night) are taking the lives of far too many children. As frightening as such a scenario sounds, these can be just as preventable as other abductions. There are things children can be taught to help protect themselves, and steps parents can take to prevent such an occurrence from happening. See the information available at www.keepyourchildsafe.org/xxxxx, and read your child the book 'Something Scary Happened' to protect them.
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