FAYETTEVILLE -- A man convicted of killing his stepfather and trying to kill his mother was sentenced Thursday to spend the rest of his life in prison.
Samuel Robert Hill, 27, killed Allen Hill, 61, at the elder Hill's home near Elkins the night of Aug. 20, 2014. He also attempted to shoot his mother Roberta Hill.
Legal Lingo
Appeal
The process by which cases are reviewed, where parties request a formal change to final orders and judgments from lower courts. The specific grounds for appeal typically could include errors of law, fact, or due process. When considering cases on appeal, appellate courts generally affirm, reverse, or vacate the decision of a lower court. Unlike trials, appeals are presented to a judge, or a panel of judges, rather than a jury.
Source: Staff Report
Hill was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder Wednesday by a Washington County Circuit Court jury.
That same jury spent more than six hours deliberating Thursday before returning with a life term for first-degree murder and 30 years plus a $15,000 fine for attempted first-degree murder. The terms will run consecutively at the Arkansas Department of Correction.
Circuit Judge Mark Lindsay sentenced Hill immediately.
"Mr. Hill, one of the goals of the justice system is to try and make victims in civil and criminal cases whole. That is not possible in this case," Lindsay said. "Your father, I cannot bring him back. Your mother, this jury or this court cannot make her whole. Your actions have taken his life literally and probably your mother's life figuratively."
Lindsay said the sentences should protect the victims and society as a whole from further injury and, hopefully, deter others from committing similar types of crimes.
"I don't believe that as of yet you have taken responsibility for your actions," Lindsay said. "I hope that you can do something to make something out of your life and accept responsibility for what you've done."
Matt Durrett said he was relieved to have the case behind him.
"The jury obviously took their job seriously and I think at the end they came up with the right verdict, the right sentence," Durrett said. "It took a long time, but I'll wait a long time for a sentence like that because Roberta deserved that. She deserved to know he's never going to get out of prison, that she's never going to have to see him walking around free again. She's been through hell."
Durrett said he hopes Roberta Hill can now begin the healing process.
"It's bad enough she had to see her husband get killed in front of her eyes but she had to see her son do it," Durrett said. "And then, the horror of shooting a police officer because she thinks it's Sam and nearly getting killed by them returning fire. I can't imagine. She went through about four things that nobody should ever have to go through."
When Washington County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived at her home, Roberta Hill feared her son was returning and fired at them. She shot Cpl. Taylor Reed. The bullet hit his arm and went into his torso and he had a lengthy recovery. Roberta Hill wasn't charged for shooting Reed.
Durrett praised Det. Chuck Rexford and members of the Sheriff's Office for their work on the case.
"The Sheriff's Office got put through the wringer on this one and they did a great job," Durrett said.
After being sentenced, Hill told an aunt he loved her and lashed out verbally at officers and members of Allen Hill's family in the courtroom. He was led out in handcuffs.
Words also passed between Allen Hill's family and a juror who went back into the courtroom to speak with Sam Hill's aunt after the jury was excused.
The aunt and Roberta Hill have been estranged for some time, according to trial testimony. The aunt testified on behalf of Sam Hill.
The same juror made hand gestures and mouthed "sorry" to Hill from the jury box. The juror was reluctant to answer when Lindsay polled the jury individually as to their verdicts.
The jury took just less than three hours to reach guilty verdicts Wednesday. Hill didn't testify.
The defense didn't dispute he killed his stepfather. His lawyer argued Hill suffered from schizophrenia and urged jurors to return a verdict of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
Allen Hill was shot six times, including two fatal slugs through his lungs, a state medical examiner told jurors. He also was hit in the face, back, right shoulder and left foot. Roberta Hill escaped the carnage by crawling out a back bedroom window and hiding until police arrived.
NW News on 05/20/2016