A man whose body was found in an Arkansas cemetery in October was shot to death, beaten and stabbed after he paid for methamphetamine with a counterfeit $100 bill, according to court records cited by the Hot Springs Sentinel-Record.
After Melissa Wineland, 37, was arrested in the disposal of Cory Richardson's body, she told officers that he died at her home, the newspaper reported.
She said her boyfriend — who was not named in the Sentinel-Record story is still being sought by police — discovered Oct. 22 that Richardson, 31, had used a counterfeit bill to pay for meth, then told 42-year-old Steven Wood to find Richardson and “deal with it,” the court documents state.
Early the next day, Wineland got a call from her boyfriend telling her that Richardson had been shot at her residence and she needed to come back and “clean up the mess,” according to the Sentinel-Record.
A witness who was reportedly inside the home at the time of Richardson's death told officers he had tried to run for the back door as Wood, Wineland’s boyfriend and a third man — also not named by the Sentinel-Record — beat him, the newspaper reported.
Wineland’s boyfriend fired in Richardson's direction, according to the witness’ statement. An autopsy report showed the 31-year-old died of a gunshot wound to the buttocks and was beaten and stabbed after his death, according to the Sentinel-Record.
Four people have been arrested in the case.