…it happened two years ago.
Mary Zumwalt Jophlin
In the wake of the ongoing news pieces about Willow Long being murdered in Effingham County, a Facebook share has been making the rounds. It’s a link to a story posted on KSDK TV out of St. Louis, where Willow’s story is being covered extensively. The link talks about an 8-year-old girl, Alexus Smothers, who was found dead, stuffed under her home, after her mother reported her missing. The mother, Mary Jophlin, was finally arrested for the little girl’s death several days after the discovery of the body.
Alexus Smothers
The problem with it making the rounds is, it’s an old story. We reported on it here (you can read it at this link) in just one article, that one prompted by the prosecutor finally coming to a conclusion that the little girl was murdered, and hadn’t “hurt herself playing and crawled under the house, where she died of her injuries.”
Authorities believe Jophlin drowned her little girl, then put her body under the house. Jophlin stands charged with multiple counts, including Murder and Concealment of a Homicidal Death. She’s been through several court proceedings, but has not been set for a jury trial yet.
So next time someone posts KSDK’s link on your wall, post this one….and let em know that the case is still pending, even after two years.