The 17-year-old high school student who was fatally shot in front of his home in Grant County early this year had said he was being "stalked" by the man who has been charged in his death, authorities said.
[AFFIDAVIT: Read full probable cause affidavit]
Rusty Draper, 45, is charged with capital murder in the Jan. 19 shooting death of Austin Moody. Moody was shot outside his home on Arkansas 35 north of Sheridan.
A probable cause affidavit released this week identifies Draper as the father of an ex-boyfriend of Moody's girlfriend and notes that Moody had made statements that he was "being stalked" by Draper.
The affidavit, written by Grant County sheriff's Deputy Robert Bird, stated that Draper had shown up at different times in the preceding weeks seeking Moody's help with a broken-down car and offering his assistance on two occasions when Moody's vehicle had a flat tire.
An autopsy revealed that Moody died of a gunshot wound in his head and that the wound was consistent with a revolver, not a shotgun that was found at the scene, Bird wrote. The bullet was determined to be of a .38-caliber that could have been fired from a Smith & Wesson gun, according to reports.
A shotgun found at the scene was later found to have two DNA profiles on it, including one belonging to Draper, Bird wrote.
The affidavit indicated that during questioning, Draper said he had tried to go to work at Union Pacific in Pulaski County the morning of the killing, but the time clock wouldn't let him clock in because the day was already recorded as a vacation day. He said he had seen a man he knew at a nearby gas station that morning and honked and waved, the affidavit said.
Investigators reported that the time clock showed no evidence of an attempted punch-in and that surveillance tapes from the business that day did not show the man mentioned by Draper as looking at or waving at anybody.
Draper told police that he had owned a Smith & Wesson revolver but that it had disappeared, according to reports. He said he last saw it under the seat in his car the morning of Moody's death, Bird wrote.
According to the affidavit, Draper inquired on Jan. 21 about the payout on his life insurance, telling the representative that he was being investigated in a homicide, and it was "about to get really bad ugly."
Two days later, Draper tried to kill himself in Dallas County, the affidavit said. Authorities reported finding a notebook with handwritten messages in it.
"I am back in a corner," said the writings, which are attributed to Draper in the affidavit. "So much stuff went wrong with plans. Cops search house. They look for my guns. Not find what the [sic] look for. I not want to live in pin!! They want me to take lie test. I will not."
Police also reported finding a bullet in Draper's vehicle that "would be consistent with the projectile recovered from the body of the victim."
Draper's first court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday.
State Desk on 03/08/2017