Arizona man who pleaded for missing girlfriend's safe return now facing first-degree murder charge
An Arizona man who had pleaded for his missing girlfriend's return is now facing a first-degree murder charge in connection with her death.
Kiera Bergman's body was found Sept. 3 near a state highway, one month after she was last seen alive at her Phoenix home.
Phoenix cops say Jon Christopher Clark should be charged with murder, improper removal of a body and evidence tampering.
Clark remains in the custody of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office after being arrested last month on unrelated charges. He told the Arizona Republic in an interview published Aug. 16 that he had "nothing to do with anything that's going on."
"I love Kiera with all my heart, I want Kiera to come home," he told the newspaper at the time.
The 23-year-old Clark was asked not to attend a vigil held for Kiera last month. Her parents told the Republic that they suspected he was involved in their 19-year-old daughter's disappearance.
"We believed from the beginning he was involved, but without any information we didn't want to put him out there as a bad person without knowing some facts," Kiera's father Chris Bragg told ABC 15.
Clark had been questioned last month about Kiera when police found other people's identification in his vehicle. Investigators have not said how Bergman died.
A bond of $1 million was set during a court appearance by Clark on Tuesday night.
"We hope if Jon is guilty he is convicted and he rots in hell," Chris Bragg said in written statement to the Republic.
A GoFundMe page has raised more than $23,000 for her family.
With News Wire Services
