A MAN has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly using snacks to lure a six-year-old girl into his Missouri hotel room before strangling her and hiding the body under the bed.

John Roberts is being remanded over the murder of Jasmine Miller.

A court statement said the girl’s body was found Saturday under the bed in the Missouri hotel room where Roberts was staying alone, The Associated Press reports.

Taney County Prosecutor Jeffrey Merrell said the girl and her family were also living at the motel in the tourist town of Branson which is close to attractions including a water park and theatre.

It is alleged the 55-year-old strangled Jasmine to death on Saturday.

Roberts, 55, had been released from jail earlier this month after a being arrested for robbery.

He was released after his brother posted $171 in bail over the January offence.

The victim had allegedly written a letter pleading for the man to be kept behind bars.

Mr Merrell said he wished the letter would have been presented at Roberts’ earlier bail hearing, and that it could have prevented the young girl’s death.

“Certainly, with the benefit of hindsight and knowing what has happened this weekend, then everyone in the world would have made an effort to keep him in jail,” he said according to the News-Leader.

A family friend of Jasmine Miller is working to raise funds for the six-year-old’s funeral.

A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $800 in one day to assist the family with the cost.

A resident of Windsor Inn, where the family was staying, said her children often played with Jasmine and she and her 17-year-old daughter helped search for the girl before she was found.

“She was just a doll,” the woman told AP.

“I think I can speak for everyone here. We are in shock.”