Arrest made in death of 7-year-old who went missing at football game

According to troopers, Gabby was reported missing by her mother around 7:40 p.m. Her body was found a short time later.

Cameras were rolling as Madden was led to a sheriff deputy’s auto Friday afternoon.

Autopsy results revealed her cause of death was manual strangulation and drowning. They also report he was sitting near the family the night of her disappearance.

A family acquaintance has been arrested and charged with the rape and murder of a seven-year-old western Kentucky girl. About 25 minutes later Gabriella’s body was found in the creek behind the high school. An immediate search of the area was conducted and at 8:05 PM, the Kentucky State Police were notified that her body had been located in a wooded area near the school.

The girl was playing with other children during the game, state police Trooper B.J. Eaton said.

He was a student at the high school and may have been a classmate of Gabriella’s father, WBKO-TV reported Friday. “I don’t know”, said Madden’s father-in-law, Larry King.

“It is changed everybody’s mindset”, Chris Carter, who has four children, said of Gabbi’s killing. “I’ve tried to stay strong but my baby girl was always my weakness”.

Madden was initially taken to the Allen County Jail to be processed.

On Sunday, hundreds of people attended a candlelight vigil in downtown Scottsville to show support for Gabriella’s family.

“We’ve known he was a suspect, and it just kept growing and stuff”, King said.

Her killer has not been found, but Allen County Schools Superintendent Randall Jackson promises a safe and nurturing environment as students return to class.