Sheriff's Deputy Courtney Kizer, the public information officer, said Wednesday the case is still active and they "are still investigating all possible leads." 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. On the night of the fire, local authorities were besieged by reports of the fireballs in the sky. 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. Some would argue, however, that not all of these cases were properly handled or the criminals involved truly got what they truly deserved. Tommy Sevier, Jr., age 25, and Samantha Sevier, age 19, both of Texarkana, Arkansas are each charged with two counts of capital murder. Nevertheless, the handwriting expert (using copies) testified that Roberts signatures were, in his opinion, not genuine. In Japan, the willow represents ghosts. In Chinese culture, a willow branch can ward off evil spirits. Looking at this year to date, the answer to how many murders in Little Rock, Arkansas, 2021 or how many homicides in Little Rock, Arkansas, 2021 can be found on the citys government website. As late as 1965, Department of Public Safety Director Homer Garrison could say, I think theres a good possibility this case will still be solved someday. If it is, Garrison wont be around to see it. His research unearthed a memo that refers to potential backups of the destroyed drives. It took one last cruel act of chancethe wrong meeting with the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong timeto produce a double torture-murder case that 38 years later remains in the Department of Public Safetys files, unsolved. Bring on the Shiplap? The Sevier County medical examiner did not respond to a request that he release the autopsy report. "I know you have paid someone to kill Shannon," Penny Stephens told Ted Hercutt, his mouth agape. Karen Johnson Swift, a mother of four, went missing. John Burnett was apprehended and hanged a month later in Fayeteville as well. 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. Days later, his truck was found in the woods just outside Marion. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. Vance was reportedly a fan of Pressly, and was a frequent viewer of her morning news show. She was a beautiful lady. The 40-year-old was a hardworking business owner, a loving sister and an incredible aunt to Penny's daughter. The Sevier County officials told appellant that they had a subpoena issued by the Sevier County Prosecuting Attorney and that they wanted to question him further in . She and her husband were getting divorced and she vanished a few weeks after filing. Remnants of a sunken ship? Authorities also discovered that the names in the Bible belonged to a family the victim stayed with while living in Dallas. Email him at travis.dorman@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @travdorman. Driftwood? Her possible birthday is 22Jun1862--d. 1936 around Grenola, KS. This case immediately caught national attention when three teenagers, Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelly Jr., and Jason Baldwin, were arrested and charged with the murders of the three young boys, with the killings being portrayed as being a part of a Satanic ritual. One caller even told the Jefferson County sheriff's department that he saw a mushroom cloud-like explosion in the vicinity of the fire. Now the bodyguard began to investigate in earnest. Her body was found in a nearby ditch. In January 1975, Carolyn Dianne Zachry of Ashdown paid two men (the exact amount is in dispute) to kill her husband -- the men took Curtis Eugene Zachry to a remote location under the pretense of. The train engineer noticed them but was unable to stop in time to prevent running over them; he later rationalized that due to the noise of the oncoming train, the boys had to have been dead and positioned on the tracks before he arrived. After serving in World War I, he returned home to Marion and began working at a utility plant. According to their YTD report, which shows crimes from January to the end of May 2021, there have been roughly 27 murders in Little Rock alone. He said he once received a phone call with no caller ID; someone breathed the word "murderer," then hung up. 2023 www.knoxnews.com. Although there are around 2,100 unsolved murders in Arkansas, most people with an interest in true crime may only know some of the better-known murders. Over the years, around 7,797 of those murders were solved, leaving over 2,100 unsolved murders in Arkansas alone. In the nearly 20 years since her disappearance, Morgan's story has gained national attention. Bergeron looked at the familiar signature again and decided it didnt look quite right. 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, 15 Movies You Probably Didnt Know Were Filmed In Arkansas, The Story Of The Serial Killer Who Terrorized This Small Arkansas Town Is Truly Frightening, History Has Forgotten This Bizarre Arkansas Event From 50 Years Ago, Not Many Folks Remember The Dark Tale Of The Arkansas Assassin. Usually, its a quiet whisper because you dont want anyone to know you committed this horrible heinous crime.. On May 24, shortly before 12:30 p.m., a shooting was reported at 234 Adcock Road. When Harding College Associate Professor Ruby Stapleton was kidnapped from a Searcy laundromat in October 1963, her anxious students, colleagues and family had to wait an excruciating 11 days to learn her fate. 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." On June 6, 1972, it was neither. Its available now on Amazon in paperback and Kindle format. So what's all this got to do with Arkansas? Even Rudolf Nureyev would have difficulty performing such a feat. He claimed that his father had collected a file on Clinton's salacious activities and that he was subsequently executed because of its contents. Authorities ask anyone with information in the case to call the Sevier County Sheriff's Office at865-453-4668 or 865-428-1899. In August 1998, both boys were sentenced to confinement until they reached the age of 21, which is the maximum sentence available under Arkansas law. Authorities have always been tight-lipped about the details of thecase. 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. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. When he finally surfaced, the Dallas DAs office mysteriously lost interest in the case and agreed to a probated sentence. Cicada 3301 is the name of a group that has annually for the past three years at least created what's essentially an online scavenger hunt for the technologically savvy. Some of the biggest unsolved murders in Arkansas include the 1994 murder of Melissa Missy Witt, the 1995 murder of Marlo Taylor, and the 1987 double murder of Don Henry and Kevin Ives, among countless others which receive much less media attention. 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. "Boys, I'm not afraid," he was reported as saying when guards strapped him in and fastened the electrodes. At the time of her death, Ted Hercutt told the News Sentinel in 2009, father anddaughter were embroiled in litigation over a piece of property. A vehicle with a similar insignia had been used by narcotics smugglers, leading police to speculate that the Fromes may have been mistaken for dope runners who double-crossed their ringleaders. Billie Jean Phillips She was murdered in her Madison County home on September 2, 1994. Friday Sept. 8, Bausdell and Stewart Ownby two huntsmen came upon a skeleton of a human being about a mile and a half from the . Two weeks later, the two killers were caught in Portland, Oregon, and were sentenced by the state of Arkansas to die for their crimes The executions were carried out on January 8, 1997 by lethal injection. 48-year-old Timothy Sharp is in the Sevier County Jail charged in the shooting death of his wife Crystal Sharp. Due to the size and population of Little Rock, Arkansas, murders are more common there than in most other cities in Arkansas. 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. McCarter, the chief detective, would not releasethe initial report a decade after the crash. No one knows precisely what he is doing today because Tex Roberts and Jessie Forsyth vanished mysteriously from his suburban Dallas mansion six years ago and havent been seen since. Today (Friday, August 16) is the official release date for Jareds new book. There are rumors of an unidentified figure in military fatigues loitering in the area before the train ran over Kevin and Don. Boredom is the eternal curse of the fisherman. If you have any information that could help crack it, please call the Sevier County Sheriff's Office. "And I think that sometimes it takes years and years to solve a case. todaysthv.com. 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. She would'veworn her seat belt. 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. After trekking through the woods, they eventually found the source of the light. Unsolved Murder in Sevier County. 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. "Yes the kids were in there and when the kids saw it they ran to a neighbor's house where they called 911," said Sheriff Stringfellow. He refused to appeal his death sentence. IZARD COUNTY, Ark. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. West Texans Are Learning What It Means to Live in Bear Country, How Florence ButtNot Her SonLaunched the H-E-B Empire, H-E-Bs True Texas BBQ Restaurant Is Slipping, Jimmy Carters Peanut-and-Egg Taco Made Quite the Impression on San Antonians. The Sevier County Sheriff's Office, he insisted, has not forgotten about the killing. We've always constantlytried to do things to try to solve it. If you have an interest in learning more about the statistics and data surrounding crimes in Arkansas, you can easily find multiple law enforcement agencies which release annual reports on their websites that show, in detail, the crimes in that area. Email Map. Thank you! On April 17, 1905, an African-American levee worker named John Barnett was hanged by a black mob near Askew (Lee County) for allegedly murdering a fellow worker. Horton and Ardis ODell Reed, the notary who witnessed Roberts signatures, were subsequently indicted for their roles. Technically the 1968 robbery of the Witte Museum in San Antonio is not unsolved. Another case, which Jared has been following for many years, is the murder of Amanda Tusing. Simmons was charged with 16 counts of murder, found guilty, and sentenced to death. A quick search for Arkansas serial killers will result in a short list of serial killers in Arkansas, some of whom are lesser known, and others who are considered to be famous Arkansas serial killers. More than 200,000 unsolved cases have gone cold since 1980, and murder clearance rates continue to drop. Hazel, 46, and Nancy, 23, left their car on the afternoon of March 25, 1938, and requested that it be ready at 6 a.m. the next day. Additional Arkansas unsolved murders include unsolved murders Little Rock, Arkansas, including the 1989 murder of Anita Shell, the 2015 murder of Ebby Steppach, and the 1993 murder of Jerry Parks, among many others. Copyright 2023, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. 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. Her friends said that there was a "creepy" man talking to Morgan around the last time she was seen. The Category is reserved for cases of Unsolved Mysteries that occurred in Arkansas. All rights reserved. It began on the night of August 15, 1970, when Roberts, whose real name wasnt Robertshe was born Leroy Seviersummoned his friend and bodyguard Al Bergeron concerning a matter of utmost importance. After finishing some personal business, Bergeron went to the mansion. It is a different world now. He asked to be put in touch with Tex personally, but Horton insisted on protecting his clients strict request for secrecy. However, a local witness claims that he saw two police officers beating two boys senseless in a store parking lot before tossing them into a truck and driving away. Pulaski County is the largest county in Arkansas, with a population of over 392,000 residents, and is home to Arkansas most popular city, Little Rock. She had an Arkansas ID with the name "Cheryl Ann Wick," a Bible with various names scribbled inside, and a litany of items from a handful of restaurants in Virginia Beach. 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.