A May 1 jury trial has been scheduled for Cody Wade Wise of Rogers, who is charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Ronald Lee Kultgen Sr. of Garfield.
Kultgen, 53, had been missing for about four months when his body was found Aug. 29, 2015, in a rural area near Clifty in Madison County.
Witnesses said they saw Kultgen getting into a car with Wise, 27, on April 15, 2015, according to an affidavit from Hunter Petray, a detective with the Benton County sheriff's office.
"One of the witnesses stated that shortly after Ronald left in the vehicle, she received an incoming call from him on Cody Wise's cell phone number," according to the affidavit, which was filed in Madison County Circuit Court. "That witness stated that this was approximately 3:15 a.m. and that Ronald told her to get out of the house, and that things were going to get hot."
Wise shot Kultgen in the head and then pushed his body into a sinkhole, according to court documents.
A witness later came forward and reported being present at the murder. The witness said one reason Wise killed Kultgen was Wise believed that Kultgen stole $2,000 from him, according to court documents.
Wise was in the Benton County jail on drug charges when he was arrested on the murder charge.
Benton County detectives received information from three people that linked Wise to the killing, according to court documents.
Wise pleaded innocent.
Washington County Circuit Judge Mark Lindsay scheduled four days for the trial. Wise appeared in court before Lindsay on Thursday.
Madison and Washington counties compose the state's 4th Judicial Circuit. Wise was a resident of Benton County, but police and prosecutors believe the homicide took place in Madison County.
Metro on 12/09/2016