LITTLE ROCK — A Little Rock man was arrested Saturday night in the deaths of his parents and the kidnapping of his sister Saturday afternoon, police said.
Antonio Whitlow, 33, was named as a suspect just a few hours after Bobby and Annette Whitlow, both 65, were found dead inside their residence at 2820 Zion St. He was arrested Saturday night in Memphis after police found him and his sister, Amber Whitlow, 12, on foot near Beale Street, according to Little Rock police spokesman Sgt. Cassandra Davis. Amber had no signs of physical injury, Davis said.
Little Rock detectives were traveling to Memphis on Saturday night to take custody of Antonio Whitlow, who is charged with two counts of capital murder and one count of kidnapping, Davis said.
Grady Carter, a member of Warriors for Christ Ministries, told police he went to the Whitlow residence about 3 p.m. Saturday to meet with Bobby Whitlow, the pastor of the church. When Carter arrived, he said the front door was open and he could see Annette Whitlow through the screen door, lying on the floor.
Carter said he stepped inside because he thought she had fallen. He called police when he saw she was injured.
When officers arrived, they entered the home and found Bobby Whitlow in another part of the house.
Bobby and Annette Whitlow were pronounced dead at the scene, Davis said. Their causes of death were not released Saturday night.
Police issued a Morgan Nick Amber Alert for Amber, who lives at the residence on Zion Street with her parents, soon after the couple was found.
Police said they believe Antonio Whitlow abducted his sister after the slayings and fled in a 1990s black and blue Lincoln sedan with a chrome luggage rack.
According to court records, state doctors diagnosed Antonio Whitlow with paranoid schizophrenia and borderline intellectual functioning in September 2007. The review followed his arrest in April 2007 after he crashed his car into the car of his then-girlfriend, Bobbie Brown, after she broke up with him.
Antonio Whitlow pleaded guilty to aggravated assault on a family or household member in October 2007 and was sentenced to five years’ probation, which will expire in October.
In July 2009, Annette Whitlow sought an order of protection against Antonio Whitlow, claiming domestic abuse, and asked that he be forced to stay away from the Zion Street residence and the church ministries at 8525 Gardner Road. The petition was dismissed in August 2009 when Annette Whitlow did not show up for court, records show.
In April 2010, Antonio Whitlow and Loretha Wilson petitioned the court for mutual protection orders. Wilson, 30, reported that they had been living together about three months in Louisiana and that Whitlow cursed her and pushed her down. She also stated that Whitlow had beaten her on New Year’s Eve 2009 in the parking lot of a convenience store on Chicot Road in Little Rock, court records show.
In another incident in January 2010, Wilson said Whitlow pulled off her wig, slapped her and pulled out a fistful of her hair.
Wilson’s petition was dismissed because she didn’t show up for court, records show.
Bobby Whitlow led Warriors for Christ Ministries, a nondenominational church that meets at Candlewood Suites at 10520 W. Markham St. on Sundays, according to Carter. He said the church has about 10 to 12 members who seek to become ministers themselves.
The congregation looked up to the couple, Carter said.
“They were people of God,” he said.
Carter was scheduled to preach at today’s services, he said, and still plans to attend.
Elvin Smith, who lives down the block from the Whitlow residence, said the Whitlows moved to the neighborhood about four years ago. Bobby Whitlow got along with everyone in the neighborhood, he said, and was someone who would sit down and talk to his neighbors.
“He was just a nice guy, a very kind person,” Smith said.
The slayings on Saturday marked the 28th and 29th homicides in Little Rock this year and the third double homicide in July.
Nine people have been victims of homicides this month in the capital city. A preliminary review of information provided by police indicates July, so far, has been the deadliest month in Little Rock in at least a decade.
On this date in 2011, Little Rock police had recorded 19 slayings, ending the year with 37. There were 28 homicides in Little Rock in 2010.
Information for this article was contributed by John Lynch of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Arkansas, Pages 15 on 07/29/2012