The person who killed a Maumelle man last year stalked him for at least two nights before shooting and stabbing him in his driveway, an FBI spokesman in Little Rock said.
Jerry Stuart, a former Olympic-qualifier, father of five and husband of an employee in the FBI's Little Rock office, was killed about 4:45 a.m. on Oct. 12, 2018, outside his home at 63 Kingspark Drive.
FBI spokesman Ryan Kennedy said Wednesday that video evidence from a nearby security camera shows a vehicle entering and leaving the cul-de-sac between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. on the day of the killing and on the two nights before Stuart's death.
"We got involved for two reasons," Kennedy said. "First and foremost, the Maumelle Police Department asked us for technical assistance for digital evidence. And Mr. Stuart was the husband of one of our employees. It was important for us to be there for our employee and to help the Maumelle Police Department."
In a media release Tuesday, Kennedy said investigators have no evidence that the killing was intended to threaten or harm Stuart's wife, Cynthia Stuart. Instead, Kennedy said, investigators believe the suspect had a "personal grudge" against Jerry Stuart in the days or week preceding his death.
Kennedy said the investigators have "a number of leads" and have identified "several suspects" but need the public's help in identifying the killer.
Police said at the time that Stuart, 60, had been stabbed and shot and that his injuries were in his head and arms. Six people called 911 around the time of Stuart's death to report hearing gunshots, and two people later told police that they'd seen a dark sports car in the area.
Maumelle police are rarely summoned to the area, and when they are, it's normally for medical calls, according to data from the Police Department.
The slaying, which was Maumelle's first homicide since 2015, happened two days after Stuart was supposed to receive an award from the Black Alumni Association at Henderson State University, where he graduated in 1980.
Stuart was a three-time All-American in indoor and outdoor track and field, and he qualified for the Olympics in 1980, according to previous reports. Stuart and about 160 other qualifiers were not allowed to compete when the United States boycotted the 1980 summer Olympics because the competition was held in the Soviet Union, which had invaded Afghanistan in December 1979.
A biography submitted for the alumni award said Stuart began in track and field in his youth when he made a long-jump pit near his home in Columbus in Hempstead County. He later set a school record for the long jump at Saratoga High School and competed throughout college.
After college, Stuart was a manager for Zales and Kays jewelers for more than 20 years. At the time of his death, the FBI release said, he worked for Glazer's Distribution, a beverage distributor.
The Stuarts had lived in the curve of Kingspark Drive for 21 years, according to Arkansas property records.
Anyone wishing to provide information in the case can call the Maumelle Police Department tip line at (501) 483-6900 or email tip@maumellepd.com. The department is offering a $15,000 reward for information that leads to the resolution of the case. Anyone who calls in may remain anonymous.
Metro on 10/17/2019