PB woman arrested in killing

She admits stabbing man, 84, says he made sex advances

PINE BLUFF -- A Pine Bluff woman was arrested Thursday morning, authorities said, after she admitted to killing 84-year-old Esbend Sheridan on Tuesday night by stabbing him repeatedly and striking him in the face with a board.

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Carla Davidson, 53, of Jefferson County was held without bond at the Jefferson County jail on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery. She was arrested at a Pine Bluff hotel, authorities said.

A jailer said Thursday afternoon that Davidson did not have an attorney.

The Jefferson County sheriff's office began an investigation into Sheridan's death Wednesday, after sanitation workers found his body just before noon along U.S. 79 south of Pine Bluff, said Maj. Lafayette Woods Jr., spokesman for the sheriff's office.

Woods said the assault took place after 9 p.m. Tuesday at Sheridan's mobile home, near where his body was found. Davidson was a caregiver for Sheridan's ex-wife Loretta Sheridan, with whom she lived, and Woods said Davidson often visited Esbend Sheridan to receive payments for the health care services. A working phone number for Loretta Sheridan was not found Thursday.

Authorities are still investigating how Sheridan's body ended up away from his mobile home and near the highway.

Davidson told investigators that her actions were in self-defense after Sheridan "had made unwanted sexual advances toward her," Woods said.

Woods said that during questioning: "Davidson admitted stabbing Sheridan multiple times and striking him in the face with what she described as a board. Davidson also admitted taking Sheridan's wallet and phone following the assault."

Woods said Sheridan also had been run over by a vehicle, but Davidson "stated she did not recall running" over him.

At the location where Sheridan's body was found, investigators with the sheriff's office spent much of Thursday combing through thick vegetation on four-wheelers in search of evidence.

Motorists slowed to a crawl near the area as lights affixed to the ATVs flashed in rapid blue bursts. Some motorists craned their necks out their car windows to observe the activity.

Nearby resident Wayne Watkins said he was shaken by the killing.

"It's just not something that happens around here," Watkins said. "And to think that the guy was elderly just breaks my heart. I will be glad when justice is served, and I just pray for all involved. It's a terrible situation."

State Desk on 06/19/2015

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