The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. A willows branches reach toward the ground and raindrops falling from the branches resemble tears, giving it the name weeping willow. Willow trees are prevalent in fiction but throughout cultures across the world, too. Email him at travis.dorman@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @travdorman. Due to the size and population of Little Rock, Arkansas, murders are more common there than in most other cities in Arkansas. Hercutt's family fell apart as accusations flew. Too late, Farenthold decided that hed been conned and went to the police. The exact cause of death in Frazier's case has not been released. "You may remain anonymous. The first victims, Jimmy Hollis, 25, and Mary Jeanne Larey, 19, were attacked while parked at a local lovers' lane. 1. Parks was leaving El Chico when he was ambushed by two men in a white Chevrolet Caprice at the intersection of Chenal and Highway 10, where witnesses say the men shot Parks to death before speeding away. "We've always kept this case open. After serving in World War I, he returned home to Marion and began working at a utility plant. You'll receive your first newsletter soon! The memo also says the backups were supposed to be delivered to a Huckabee aide. There's just something that comes together at some point, and I truly believe that it will here, too. The maharajahs had little trouble acquiring or keeping precious stones, ancient law automatically imposed the death penalty on any subject who possessed a jewel weighing more than one carat. On Christmas Day 2020, shortly after 8 a.m., the body of Ethan Mathis, 18, of Hot Springs, was found in the 1400 block of Bald Mountain Road after deputies responded to a 911 call about a possible deceased person. In the months that followed, the Phantom Killer embarked on a murder spree, which the media coined the Texarkana Moonlight Murders. Jared said his book also has chapters that include other cases, too. His hope is that his work will lead to justice for families who have suffered without answers for too long. Four days after Mathis was found, on Dec. 29, around 1:30 p.m., the bodies of Shaquilla Watts, 21, and her son, Zay'vion Watts, 5, were found inside their residence at Pebble Creek Apartments, 201 Wynn St. "It was determined both had been shot to death," Cpl. Here are 10 more mysteries to explore. For Fannin is chief of detectives for the Dallas police force and the short, stocky man is the King of Diamonds, the most daringand most successfuljewel thief ever to operate in Dallas. Usually, its a quiet whisper because you dont want anyone to know you committed this horrible heinous crime.. Either way, the murders that took place in Arkansas left a mark on the state and made headlines in the news. On May 24, shortly before 12:30 p.m., a shooting was reported at 234 Adcock Road. Valuable jewelry had been ignored. But he had a good reputation for paying his gambling debts. The paper reported that authorities hadn't yet found the precise cause of the fire, but were convinced it wasn't connected to the "meteors." The real Wick claimed she didn't know the victim. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Penny Stephens said she went to her sister's house after the killing and sawa baseball bat, blood on the outside refrigerator and two busted bottles of alcohol onthe floor. Authorities ask anyone with information in the case to call the Sevier County Sheriff's Office at865-453-4668 or 865-428-1899. The property had been sold to a management company created and owned by Horton. She and her husband were getting divorced and she vanished a few weeks after filing. With equity for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other underserved victims not prioritized in the true crime communitytogether we can do better. On June 6, 1972, it was neither. They were partially undressed but had not been raped. Boredom is the eternal curse of the fisherman. But Shannon's life was stopped short on a late summer night on August 3rd, 2009. Someone likely killed her at her home, detectives determined, then placed her body in her SUV and sent it tumbling off an embankment near some rental cabins she owned. The Springtime Jonquil Festival In Arkansas Thats Unlike Any Other, Spend A Magical Evening Savoring This Wine And Fondue Experience In Arkansas, Arkansas Oldest Drive-In Theater Is Hiding In A Small Town And Youll Want To Visit, Dine At The Historic Spot In Arkansas Where The Legendary Gangster Al Capone Drank Whiskey, These 11 Arkansas Murder Cases Made Headlines, The Story Of The Serial Killer Who Terrorized This Small Arkansas Town Is Truly Frightening, 9 True Arkansas Stories That Are Way Creepier Than The Clown Takeover, History Has Forgotten This Bizarre Arkansas Event From 50 Years Ago. Sadly, after more than 20 years, it appears that the deaths of Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Chris Byers will forever remain unsolved. The stranger then showed Sumpter and McLemore his vessel: a cigar-shaped amalgamation of blimp and balloon that was nearly 60 feet long The pilot even offered them a ride, but the officers refused. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. As for the police, they too have changed. Sheriff's deputies responded and located a deceased male, Jacob Stone, 22, at the scene. Hailing from Forrest City, Arkansas, Larry Porter Chism is wanted by the United States Marshals for charges related to his escape from the Lonoke County Jail in the December of 1978. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The victim was a young blonde, and she had been savagely beaten before being shot in the. Karen Johnson Swift, a mother of four, went missing. As of June, a $50,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the conviction of whoever killed Mathis. The three young men would later be released from prison, and the case would remain in a gray area among police and the public, with some believing the three men are guilty, and others believing that they are innocent. In a joint statement on April 13, investigators noted it is believed White's death, which was determined to be a homicide, was "an isolated incident" in response to unconfirmed reports circulating in the community that multiple victims were involved. Her husband and her family are basically from Pocahontas, Jared said. Once inside, deputies found Crystal Sharp in the house with gunshot wounds to the head and face. Timothy Sharp is in the Sevier County Jail on a first degree murder charge. We believe the more resources we can provide to digital volunteers and citizen solvers mean more citizen detective communities. Johnson has since faced run-ins with Arkansas law subsequent to his release and is currently serving a four-year federal sentence on weapon and drug charges. The pair were believed to have been seen together at a truck stop in Missouri, which is where the murders are presumed to have taken place.Hendricks was left at the crime scene, while Mills was found in Mississippi County, Arkansas. Days later, his truck was found in the woods just outside Marion. Garland County Prosecutor Michelle Lawrence confirmed Thursday the case was still under review by her office. Most of these recent Little Rock murders have not been solved, and law enforcement continues to investigate their homicides. While most of the stories share similar motifs, the legend seems to have emanated from a report published in 1980. Main Page; Discuss; All Pages; Community; Interactive Maps; Recent Blog Posts; Netflix series. Since the case against the men depended on his testimony, charges had to be dismissed after his death. Deputy dining at IHOP makes arrest for disorderly conduct, JONESBORO Arkansas State University has released the list of students who were awarded diplomas on the undergraduate and graduate levels during the 2017 Spring Commencement ceremony May 13 in the Convocation Center. Copyright 2023, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. The victim of the gangland-style slaying was Randy Farenthold, a 32- year-old Corpus Christi playboy euphemistically described as a sportsman in press accounts. Ted Hercutt, his then-wife and his other daughter, Penny Stephens,were vacationing some 380 miles awayin Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, when authorities respondingto an alert from Shannon Hercutt'sOnStar safety system found her dead inside her SUV. Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies continue to work on the cases, which date from the last week of 2020 through the end of 2021. Now she was appearing on national television to accuse her father whom she described as a "pathological liar" who made her "fear for her life" of having her sister killed. Billie Jean Phillips She was murdered in her Madison County home on September 2, 1994. Once confident of solving the case, they have lost their optimism with the years. The King reaped so much publicity he became an inspiration for lesser thieves, who attempted to emulate him without success. But police believe that other parties unknown could have had a motive, toosomeone who arranged the contact, perhaps, or helped finance Farentholds part of the deal and didnt want his role exposed in court. On one venture, which netted him $215,000 in stones, the King apparently leaped fifteen feet from a wall to a narrow second-story bathroom window ledge. "The Hot Springs Police Department and the Watts family are asking for help from the media and public to bring light on this case as it will be one year as of Dec. 29 since this horrendous crime took place," Anaya said, noting they are seeking any information leading to the arrest of the individuals involved. (It is perhaps worth noting that the laws of the state of Texas are somewhat more lenient, and its citizens have considerably more difficulty keeping their jewels.) Despite the fact that Horton had a document giving him power of attorney, no Dallas bank would negotiate the transactions. According to Arkansas investigators, she told her friends she was originally from Florida. It was one of many reported "airship" sightings that swept the country in the late 19th century. [], JONESBORO, Ark. The Cortez Hotel, where Hazel and Nancy Frome spent their last five nights, booked its final guest in 1970; it has been converted into a Job Corps center. Over the years, roughly 7,797 of those murders in Arkansas were solved, leaving over 2,100 unsolved Arkansas murders today. Murder Mystery: Most Likely To Be Murdered Part 2. The local Packard garage might have had the necessary parts to repair the carbut it had to order them and wait five days instead. Well, two of the clues were posted in Fayetteville and Little Rock. Huckabee briefly addressed the issue in 2007, saying the hard drives were destroyed to "protect the privacy" of people whose information was stored in the data. After trekking through the woods, they eventually found the source of the light. Mysteriously, she vanishes before they reach the destination, where her parents tell the driver that their daughter perished in a car accident many years ago. UNSOLVED MURDER: Garland County, AR- TEELA HUDSON (17) and FRANK DELANEY (18) was found August 31, 1987 shot to death "execution-style " inside Delaney's car in eastern Garland County, and authorities are still trying to bring the killers to justice. Simmons was charged with 16 counts of murder, found guilty, and sentenced to death. Bergeron looked at the familiar signature again and decided it didnt look quite right. Tommy Sevier, Jr., age 25, and Samantha Sevier, age 19, both of Texarkana, Arkansas are each charged with two counts of capital murder. However, this neat package overlooks one minor. He chronicles those experiences and cases, too. [ Feb 15, 2023 ] Two severe crashes in Greene County Crime [ Feb 15 , 2023 . Constable John J. Sumpter, Jr. and Deputy Sheriff John McLemore were investigating reports of "cattle rustling" in Hot Springs when they watched a bright light descend behind some trees. Thank you to Brandon Howard with Highlands Today for the story. But Jim Parsons is determined to solve the mystery. "It's sad," John Madewell said. "I know you have paid someone to kill Shannon," Penny Stephens told Ted Hercutt, his mouth agape. According to Project: Cold Case, from 1965 to 2019 there were around 9,951 murders in Arkansas alone. The gem once belonged to the Maharajah of Mahratta in the Gujarat region of India. Arkansas, USA : C : Hoyt Franklin CLINES March 25, 1981: 1: Arkansas, USA : Johnie Michael . Over the years, around 7,797 of those murders were solved, leaving over 2,100 unsolved murders in Arkansas alone. "And don't sit there and act like you're so innocent.". Standing in the surf off Mustang Island, he looks for variety wherever he can find it, noting minute shifts in the tide, the direction of the current, the timing of the waves. A well known, quasi-political figure around Arkansas in the late 1980s and early 90s, Luther Gerald "Jerry" Parks, Jr. oversaw Bill Clinton's security detail while Clinton was governor. Some of the cases only hope of being solved lie in the hands and on the conscious of potential witnesses. And yet another account says drivers pick up a young girl asking for a ride home. woman accused of using aunts debit card for 136 DoorDash orders held on preset $18 million bond. Her possessions gave investigators little to work with. Jared takes a deep personal interest in these cases and others he covers, often becoming close with the family of the victims. They said it had political overtones, pointing to the untimely suicide of Vincent Foster a childhood friend of Clinton's and one of his closest allies only months earlier as evidence of a connection. During the final week of 2020, three homicides were reported that are still unresolved despite the respective agencies and families of the victims involved reaching out for help. Some examples of the most gruesome murders which you can find on their list of unsolved murders include the 1998 abduction and murder of Brittany Locklear, the 2000 murder of Keke Jefferson-Moore, the 2001 murder of Michelle Howard, the 1992 murder of Tammy Zywicki, the 1994 murder of Melissa Witt, the 2017 murder of Brandi Seals, and the 1985 Authorities in Arkansas are seeking information in a double homicide that has remained unsolved for 21 years. But subtle clues soon tipped off her loved ones that there was more to the story. No conclusive proof of their cause of death has ever been established. Bring on the Shiplap? He went on to criticizethe state highway patrol, whichworked the crash, and the sheriff's office, whichreceived the case after the autopsyon Aug. 6, 2009. ", Texarkana Siblings Charged in Burned Bodies Case, La. Those with information can call or text the ISB Tip Line at (888) 653-0009; leave tips online by visiting http://www.nps.gov/ISB and clicking "Submit a Tip;" or by email at nps_isb@nps.gov. "Boys, I'm not afraid," he was reported as saying when guards strapped him in and fastened the electrodes. Some unsolved murders in northern Arkansas include the 1998 murder of Valeria Christina Roberson, the 2000 murder of Amanda Renee Tusing, the 2001 murder of Tammy Jarvis, and the 2002 murder of Edward Choi, among many others. The FBI maintains that Banks' case is one of many unsolved civil rights-era cases that it is still investigating. The police have the man who did it, and he is indeed behind bars. Some northern Arkansas unsolved murders include the 1998 murder of Valeria Christina Roberson, the 2000 murder of Amanda Renee Tusing, the 2001 murder of Tammy Jarvis, and the 2002 murder of Edward Choi, among many others. The sheriff's office launched a homicide investigation. Bojangles." Fannin has been looking for him, unsuccessfully, for almost twenty years. 2. Now, however, he is singing a different tune. That may have been why somein the community grew to suspect the father had a hand in his daughter's killing. Rector then shot himself in the head in a suicide attempt. Much of the publicly available information has come from family members and remains independently unconfirmed. The best hidden gems and little known destinations - straight to your inbox. This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Material from the Associated Press is Copyright 2023, Associated Press and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. His research unearthed a memo that refers to potential backups of the destroyed drives. The third case began in October, 2011. The area where White was found is part of Hot Springs National Park and on federal land, resulting in both the National Park Service and FBI taking the lead on the investigation. In those halcyon days the dollar seemed like a good investment, and so the diamond found its way to New York, where it was purchased by E. B. McFarlin of San Antonio in 1956. Technically the 1968 robbery of the Witte Museum in San Antonio is not unsolved. Get more stories delivered right to your email. Andy Taylor and Barney Fife meet Spock and Captain Kirk? Another man at the scene was initially taken into custody on an unrelated charge and questioned about the incident, but was later released. On the evening of the murders a "disoriented" African American man, covered in blood and mud, entered a Bojangles restaurant not far from where the bodies were found. When they returned to the hotel shortly before midnight, they got the bad news about the car, and for the next four days, they shopped in the Juarez marketplace and danced away the nights. Even the desert itself is different, a victim of the encroaching city and land developers. Sevier County Sheriff Monte Stringfellow says that they responded to a call at a home in the 300 block of Dogtown Road, just after 11 p.m. Thursday night. 4. Mention "Woodson Lateral Road" to most Arkansans over 40 and you're bound to hear the Natural State's version of the vanishing hitchhiker legend. Special Report: Plans to exhume 1977 Arkansas murder victim's body are 'underway'. A local black coalition offered a $1,000 reward to anyone with information, but no one came forward. "And everybody who worked for her obviously she was pretty strong-willedbut she had very loyal people whoworked for her. He asked to be put in touch with Tex personally, but Horton insisted on protecting his clients strict request for secrecy. You don't have to tell us who you are, but please tell us what you know," the release said. And Nancy and her mother might be alive todaybut they arent. Bidding farewell to their new acquaintance who said he was on his way to, of all places, Nashville the two officers left. Daniel Vaughn is the countrys first barbecue editor, and he has eaten more barbecue than you have. Clinton associate murdered execution style. But while the murder was an open and shut case, figuring out the victim's true identity has been impossible. The story did little to dispel the rumors, though. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. Authorities have always been tight-lipped about the details of thecase. One of the individuals who will be included in Arkansas serial killer list is James Waybern Hall, also known as Big Jim, who was convicted of killing 4 people in 1944 and 1945. The victim was a young blonde, and she had been savagely beaten before being shot in the head by her boyfriend. Some examples of cases where Little Rock murders DNA was used to solve or bring new information to light include the 1990 murder of Treva Parks and the 1990 murder of Pamela Felkins, among many others. The Jonesboro prosecutor later stated that were it not for their ages, he would have sought a death sentence for the pair. The decision remains controversial as the families of the three victims are divided in their opinions as to the guilt or innocence of the West Memphis Three. All police have is a single description, plus the certain clue that the King must have had close contacts in Dallas society. Parks' son, Gary, also tried to link Clinton to the murders. It may be that last trait that can most be closely identified with the author. When police found a 21-year-old female brutally murdered in her hotel room, the mystery was just beginning. That nightafter all, it was only one nightthe socially prominent women did something a little out of character; they went to Juarez and lived it up. In early January 2014, Cicada 3301 released another message in its three year journey. In old interviews, Ted Hercutt openly acknowledged his status as a suspect but consistently denied any involvement. OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. While the authorities' search for the "highway apostle" yielded no tangible evidence, the story permeated Little Rock by word of mouth. Bergeronwho knew he was a major beneficiary under his friends willdidnt quite know what to think about Hortons assurances that Tex was getting the money.