An Ohio man has been accused by a grand jury of raping and strangling a nine-year-old girl whose body was found in a rubbish bin at the mobile home park where they were neighbours.

The death toll from the devastating tornadoes that hit America’s south climbed to 337 today, making it the second-deadliest day for a tornado outbreak in US history.

An escaped prisoner who stole a deputy’s gun and patrol car then kidnapped her three-year-old son was shot in the head as she held the weapon to the terrified toddler’s head in a stand-off with police.