An 18-year-old North Little Rock resident was arrested Thursday afternoon after the body of a man in his early 20s was recovered in central Arkansas, authorities say.
According to a news release from the Pulaski County sheriff's office, a homicide investigation began when a man who had blood on his clothes — later identified as Warren Emerson Goodrum — went to his father's house around midnight Wednesday and said that he had "killed a person" behind cottages in the 10000 block of MacArthur Drive.
The teen’s father called authorities, who spoke with Goodrum and searched the area around the cottages, which are in the northern part of the county. Police dogs, four-wheelers and an aerial drone with infrared capabilities were used in the search.
Authorities said they found a man’s body in the “wooded area” near the cottages around 11 a.m. Sheriff's office spokesman Lt. Cody Burk said the victim was a North Little Rock resident in his early 20s.
The body will be taken to the state Crime Lab, authorities said.
Goodrum was arrested on suspicion of murder shortly after 4 p.m. and was being held at the Pulaski County jail without bail, according to an arrest report. Goodrum told investigators he killed the man after being read his rights, the report states.
The cottages near where the body was found are occupied, and Burk said that Goodrum and the victim were frequently in the area. Although drug arrests had been made in the area over the years, the spokesman said there was no indication that the crime was drug-related.
Goodrum is set to appear in court Sept. 11 at 9 a.m.
Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter Clara Turnage contributed to this story.