Pulaski County Sheriff Doc Holladay said Tuesday that no other suspects are being sought for the killing of Realtor Beverly Carter.
He expressed his gratitude to all who volunteered their time and effort in helping find Carter, who was found dead early Tuesday morning in a shallow grave at Argos Concrete Co., 12117 Arkansas 5 in Cabot.
“On behalf of the Pulaski County sheriff’s office, I want to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family of Beverly Carter,” he said in a news conference at the Pulaski County jail. “For the hundreds of friends, volunteers and law enforcement personnel that searched tirelessly to find her, we thank you.”
Holladay said he and Capt. Simon Haynes, head of the sheriff’s office Criminal Investigations Division, met with Carter’s family Friday night after she went missing and “promised them that our focus was to find Beverly and return her home.”
Arron Lewis, 33, of Jacksonville, was arrested Monday and questioned for more than 12 hours at the Pulaski County sheriff’s office in the abduction of Carter, 50, who disappeared Thursday after going to show a home in Scott.
“We believe that the person responsible for taking her and, as we know now, for her murder is in custody,” he said. “This case did not end as we’d hoped, but now we must move forward to prepare a case for submission for trial that would result in the pursuit of justice.”
The investigation is continuing, but Holladay said investigators believe Lewis acted alone.
“We have a lot more work to do, paperwork to do and loose ends to follow. There’s a lot more that’s been going into this investigation,” he said. “But, at this time, we are not seeking any other suspects.”
Holladay said while he was questioned, Lewis mentioned an individual by the name of “Trevor," who was brought to the sheriff’s office Monday and later released.
“We interviewed him extensively, and we do not believe at this point he’s involved in the commission of this crime,” he said.
When asked about the cause of Carter’s death and how investigators tied Lewis to the case, Haynes said those details cannot be released at this time.
After the conference, David Goldstein, a co-worker of Carter’s, read a statement to reporters from the owners of Crye-Leike Realtors.
“On behalf of the owners, management and the entire Crye Leike family, we would like to express our deepest condolences to the Carter Family for their loss. Our hearts are heavy for the pain and suffering this terrible event has caused them,” the statement read. “She lived out her faith in the way she treated others.”
Carter, a real estate agent for Crye-Leike Realtors in North Little Rock, told her husband by phone Thursday that she was going to show someone a home at 14202 Old River Drive. When she didn't return home later that night, Carter's husband went to the house and found her sport utility vehicle parked outside with her purse in it and the door to the home open. But there was no sign of Carter, Arkansas Online previously reported.
Lewis is being charged with capital murder and kidnapping in this case and being held at the Pulaski County jail without bail.
According to Crye-Leike’s Facebook page, Carter’s funeral has been scheduled for Saturday at the First Pentecostal Church at 1401 Calvary Road in North Little Rock.
The visitation will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, and funeral services will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Read Wednesday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more on this story.
Lewis speaks to reporters after arrest
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Realtor's body found in shallow grave; Lewis charged with murder
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