HOT SPRINGS -- A Hot Springs man was sentenced to 30 years in prison Monday morning after pleading no contest to one count of first-degree murder in the death of a man whose body was found dumped at Greenwood Cemetery in 2017.
Donald Franklin Williams, 57, who was set to stand trial April 7, pleaded in Garland County Circuit Court in the case involving Cory Richardson, 31, of Hot Springs, whose body was found Oct. 23, 2017, next to the cemetery's main entrance at 701 Greenwood Ave.
An additional felony charge of possession of a firearm by certain persons was withdrawn as part of the plea deal. Williams, a convicted felon at the time of Richardson's death, will have to serve 70% of his sentence, or at least 21 years, before he is eligible for parole under sentencing guidelines.
Williams, who was arrested Dec. 29, 2017, in Rockwall, Texas, and extradited to Hot Springs, is one of of seven suspects charged in Richardson's death. He is also serving a sentence in federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan., on unrelated charges.
Two other suspects -- Steven Wayne Wood, 44, and John Patrick Walker, 44, both of Hot Springs -- were also charged with first-degree murder in Richardson's death. Walker is set for a disposition hearing in the case on Jan. 7, and Wood is set to stand trial Jan. 14.
Three accomplices, all of Hot Springs and all charged with tampering with physical evidence, pleaded guilty last year to their charges. Jake Lynn Norwood, 29, pleaded guilty July 23, 2018, and was sentenced to six years in prison. Melissa Jere Wineland, 28, pleaded guilty Oct. 8 and was sentenced to six years, with four years suspended. James Dean Keyser III, 28, pleaded guilty Dec. 3 and was sentenced to five years' probation, fined $500 and ordered to pay $420 in costs.
A fourth accomplice -- Stephanie Ann Shell, 22, of Malvern -- pleaded guilty Dec. 17, 2018, to one felony count of hindering apprehension or prosecution and was sentenced to 10 years in prison with nine years suspended, and ordered to pay $170 in court costs.
An autopsy determined Richardson died from a gunshot that entered his upper left buttocks and exited his abdomen, but there was also evidence of blunt force trauma in his head and a stab wound in his left thigh.
Wineland was arrested Oct. 24, 2017, the day after Richardson's body was found, Norwood was arrested Nov. 5, 2017, and Keyser was arrested Nov. 24, 2017. Wood and Shell were arrested together on Nov. 15, 2017. Walker was apprehended on Dec. 19, 2017, in Garland County, and 10 days later Williams was apprehended in Texas.
According to previous affidavits, Richardson was killed or severely wounded at 106 N. Patterson St., Wineland's residence, and transported by car to the cemetery. The car was located and searched the day Richardson was found, and police said it had blood in the back seat.
Wineland admitted after her arrest that she and Keyser transported the body to the cemetery from her home. She said the two then drove to Walmart, 1601 Albert Pike Road, where Keyser purchased cleaning products. They then returned to the house, which Keyser and others began cleaning while Wineland and Norwood took the car to a car wash, according to an affidavit.
According to other witnesses, on the afternoon of Oct. 22, 2017, Richardson used a counterfeit $100 bill to pay Wood for methamphetamines, which Wood got from Williams. Later that same day, according to witnesses, Williams arrived at the residence, angry at Wood for accepting the counterfeit bill. Williams reportedly told Wood to locate Richardson and "deal with it," and then left.
Williams and his son-in-law, identified as Walker, later returned armed with handguns and reportedly pistol-whipped Richardson, knocking him to the floor. Wood joined in the attack and hit Richardson, who tried to flee out a rear door in the kitchen, according to an affidavit. At that point, police said, Williams shot in Richardson's direction.
Williams and Walker, according to an affidavit, were the only ones in the kitchen with Richardson at the time and continued to beat him before a second shot was fired. A witness said Richardson was face-down on the floor, yelling that he had been shot, as Williams and Walker exited the kitchen.
Williams began cleaning blood off his hands and the gun, then told witnesses, "y'all better clean this mess up," as he and Walker left the scene, the witnesses said. A witness stated that Shell helped Wood drag Richardson's body out of the house and then helped clean the house to remove the blood and other evidence.
Court records indicate Williams was convicted on Nov. 5, 1998, of felony drug charges in Pike County and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was also convicted May 10, 2005, in Garland County of manufacturing or delivery of a controlled substance, methamphetamines, and possession of a firearm by certain persons. He was sentenced to six years' probation.
Metro on 12/31/2019