# 5-Year-Old Shawnlee Perry was Killed by a “Helpful Neighbor”

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/true-crime-with-bratterstein-7162898/5-year-old-shawnlee-perry-was-killed-by-a-helpful-neighbor
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/true-crime-with-bratterstein-7162898/5-year-old-shawnlee-perry-was-killed-by-a-helpful-neighbor.md
Podcast: [TRUE CRIME with Bratterstein](https://stenobird.com/podcast/true-crime-with-bratterstein-7162898)
Published: 2026-06-24T12:00:01+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bratterstein/episodes/5-Year-Old-Shawnlee-Perry-was-Killed-by-a-Helpful-Neighbor-e3l7atc
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/APO1419013230.mp3
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Duration seconds: 2559

## Resource

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Shawnlee Matilda Perry with me today. In May 1992, 5-year-old Shawnlee Perry disappeared from Earth, Texas, launching a massive missing child investigation that gripped the small community and became one of the state's most heartbreaking true crime cases. After weeks of searching, Shawnlee was found murdered, and investigators spent years working to solve the child abduction and murder. The case took a shocking turn when forensic evidence linked local resident Eddie Rowton to the crime, revealing that the man responsible had participated in search efforts while Shawnlee's family desperately looked for answers. Convicted of capital murder in 1999 and sentenced to death, Rowton's conviction brought long-awaited justice in a case that continues to be remembered as a tragic Texas murder case, child homicide investigation, and chilling example of a killer hiding in plain sight.

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## Transcript

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