HOT SPRINGS — A Malvern man has been convicted of capital murder in the 2010 shooting death of a Hot Springs motel owner.
Jurors deliberated 20 minutes Wednesday before convicting 26-year-old Timothy Wells in the 2010 shooting death of 53-year-old Madhuben Patel. Wells received an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole because prosecutors waived the death penalty.
The Sentinel-Record reported that Patel owned the Lynwood Motel with her husband.
Wells’ attorney, Mark Fraiser, said there is “no doubt” that Wells caused Patel’s death. But he questioned whether jurors had enough evidence that Wells was also guilty of robbery.
Wells pleaded guilty last year in a separate case to first-degree murder in the death of Stephen Northcutt. Authorities say Northcutt was killed about 10 hours after Patel was shot to death.