An Arkansas man who was convicted of manslaughter more than a decade ago was sentenced Thursday to 60 years in prison for beating a woman to death last year, authorities said.
A Mississippi County jury found Jamal Akram, 54, of Blytheville guilty of first-degree murder, according to a news release from the office of Second Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington.
Arkam was accused of killing Linda Hatcher, 57, on March 18, 2016, in the home that they shared in the 500 block of South Franklin Street in Blytheville.
When officers arrived, they reportedly found Hatcher's body in the back of the home. They also discovered a large amount of bloody water in the bathtub, Capt. Scott Adams of the Blytheville Police Department previously told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Akram was convicted in 2005 of manslaughter after police said he struck a vehicle April 2, 2005, on U.S. 61 in Blytheville. An Arkansas State Police report said Ernest Young, 27, of Blytheville, who was a passenger in the car Akram struck, died after his head hit the roof of the car, the newspaper reported.
According to the release from Ellington's office Thursday, Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. followed the sentencing recommendation by the jury of 60 years in Hatcher's death.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Kenneth Heard contributed to this story.