Arkadelphia man faces death penalty

Police: Bloody print links to 3 deaths

ARKADELPHIA -- An Arkadelphia man charged with capital murder in the 2012 slayings of two young girls and their stepfather will face the death penalty if convicted, a circuit court judge ruled at a pretrial hearing Friday.

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Riakos Lizana sat at a long table between his public defenders during the hearing at the Clark County Courthouse. Clad in an orange jumpsuit with shackles on his hands and feet, the 21-year-old mostly looked down during the half-hour session.

Lizana was arrested days after the Dec. 6, 2012, deaths of Marley Crutchfield, 4; Adiele Crutchfield, 6; and Bobby Jean Galbraith, 40. Galbraith's 6-month-old daughter -- the Crutchfield girls' stepsister -- was unharmed in a crib at the back of the Arkadelphia home, an arrest affidavit filed in the case states.

The motive for the killings and the cause of death of the victims remain undisclosed.

Authorities said they matched a bloody palm print on a bathroom door at the crime scene to Lizana, who pleaded innocent in a January 2013 hearing. Lizana faces three counts of capital murder and one count of aggravated residential burglary.

In court Friday, Lizana said nothing. Occasionally, he glanced at the 20 people who gathered in the gallery behind him.

His family and the victims' family sat on the same side of the room.

When the defense urged Clark County Circuit Judge Robert McCallum to drop the capital murder charge on the grounds that it is unconstitutional and that it historically has been imposed in a racially discriminatory manner, McCallum responded: "I agree with the state. Arkansas case law supports the state at this time."

McCallum issued rulings on 11 motions, including directions that Lizana appear before the jury in civilian clothing, that his nonviolent prior convictions not be used in sentencing and that displays of emotion from the crowd be prohibited during the trial.

A late motion filed by the defense requested that the state reveal the identities of at least two confidential informants who assisted with the police investigation. McCallum postponed a decision on that motion until the next hearing Aug. 8.

Attorneys from both parties declined to comment.

State Desk on 07/20/2014

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