Roses And A Kiss Goodbye For Casey

The 6-year-old schoolgirl who was snatched from her father's home and slain last week was remembered Tuesday with roses, a kiss and a church elder's testimony to her budding faith.

Mourners gathered at Twin Oaks Presbyterian Church for Cassandra Williamson's funeral, which was open to the public and carried live on at least one St. Louis television station.

Just before the service started, Cassandra's parents, Ernie and Angela Williamson, approached the small white casket that was opened to show Cassandra clutching a stuffed animal and family picture. Angela leaned over and kissed her daughter's cheek.

Small children, friends of Cassandra's, held pink, long-stemmed roses.

Elder Daryl Lynn, of the Valley Park Chapel, near Cassandra's home, recalled that just last Wednesday, Cassandra recited Bible verses to the congregation, earning a uniform and badge from a church children's group.

On a screen was a picture of the girl dressed in a blue-jean dress, clutching her heart as she sang a Christian song. Lynn said the picture "serves as a message to all our hearts: 'Don't worry about me, I have Christ in my heart."'

The little girl, nicknamed "Casey," would have been a first-grader this fall.

A volunteer found Cassandra's body Friday afternoon at an abandoned glass factory in this St. Louis County town, about eight hours after her father reported her missing.

Johnny Johnson, 24, an ex-convict, is accused of abducting Cassandra, trying to rape her and killing her. Johnson was being held without bond in a psychiatric unit of the St. Louis County Jail, where he is on suicide watch.

St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch has not yet said whether his office will seek the death penalty.

Johnson, described by authorities as a drifter, had been staying for a few days at the home shared by Cassandra's father and his roommate. Ernie Williamson and his wife are separated, but often spend nights together. Thursday night, the couple and all four of their children were in the home. Cassandra disappeared Friday morning.

By Jim Salter