FAYETTEVILLE — A former husband and wife entered innocent pleas Wednesday in a 14-year-old murder case.
Reta Flowers and Raymond Douglas, both 41, pleaded innocent to charges of first-degree murder in the death of Goldie Thornsberry.
Washington County Magistrate Judge Ray Reynolds accepted the pleas and set a Sept. 23 trial date. Both remain in the Washington County jail in lieu of $250,000 bond.
Flowers is represented by the Washington County public defender’s office. Douglas is represented by attorney Ronald Davis of Little Rock. Washington County Prosecuting Attorney John Threetwill prosecute the case.
Thornsberry, Flowers’ mother, was last seen in Fayetteville in January 1996. She was reported missing March 7, 1996. Her remains were discovered by a land survey crew in a water well on a vacant lot in Little Rock on July 20, 2000. The remains were identified June 15 using DNA comparison with two of Thornsberry’s daughters.
Police said the remains had a cord fastened around the neck. The state medical examiner’s office determined the cause of death as strangulation.
Thornsberry’s remains had injuries and surgical scars consistent with her medical records but were missing teeth, hands and a leg.
In March, the Little Rock Police Department’s Cold Case Division broadcast information on a TV station about the remains. The broadcast also featured a clay sculpture, based on a mold of the skull, that attempted to show what the victim looked like.
A former neighbor of Thornsberry saw the show,recognized the composite and called police.
Police and prosecutors say they believe the motive behind Thornsberry’s death was money.
On March 8, 1996, police initiated an investigation after discovering unusual bank transactions on Thornsberry’s bank account after she was reported missing by family members. Her car was found in the parking lot of Wal-Mart Supercenter on Sixth Street in Fayetteville in April 1996.
Flowers and Douglas, who lived with Thornsberry when she disappeared, were charged with second-degree forgery and pleaded guilty on Sept. 5, 1996.
Police said Thornsberry’s freezer was reported missing in March 1996 by family members after Flowers and Douglas moved out.
Flowers was living in southwest Little Rock and Douglas was living in Benton when they were arrested June 22 on the murder charges.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 07/22/2010