TALLAHASSEE - The state Supreme Court upheld the murder conviction and death sentence given to a Tampa Bay fisherman in the disappearance of a little girl six years ago.
Willie Seth Crain, a convicted child molester, was sent to death row for the murder of 7-year-old Amanda Brown.
Crain, 58, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1985 on five counts of sexual battery on girls younger than 11 and one count of aggravated child abuse. He served six years.
Crain met Kathryn Hartman, Amanda's mother, one night in September 1998. He spent the next evening with her and her daughter, eating supper and watching a video of the movie Titanic. During the evening, Crain gave Hartman Valium tablets, and after the movie, he crawled into bed with her and Amanda, court records show.
When Hartman woke up a few hours later, both Crain and Amanda were gone. Amanda's body was never found, but investigators later found Amanda's blood on Crain's boxer shorts and toilet seat.
In Thursday's unsigned opinion, Florida's high court said there was enough evidence, though circumstantial, to uphold Crain's conviction and sentence.
