C.S. Murphy
Stories by C.S.
Suit filed in Utah court names ex-LR lawyer, wife
posted: 12/25/2011 1:33 a.m. Discuss
Former Little Rock attorney Elgin Clemons and his wife are the targets of a lawsuit filed in a Utah federal court as part of an effort to recover more than $50 million bilked from more than 200 investors in a Ponzi scheme.
DNA links resident of state, ’97 assault
posted: 12/04/2011 4:30 a.m. Discuss
A national DNA database has connected an Arkansas man convicted of battery and drug charges during the summer to a 14-year-old sexual-assault case in Ogden, Utah.
Morgue doctor, 45, found dead
posted: 11/29/2011 5:41 a.m. Discuss
Dr. Daniel Konzelmann, assistant medical examiner at the state morgue, was found dead in his Hot Springs home early Monday morning.
2 at Crime Lab carry scars of 3 boys’ deaths
posted: 11/27/2011 5:50 a.m.
Comments 7
The murders marked the careers of the two Arkansas scientists as indelibly as a bloodstain.
LR police testify in Virginia
posted: 11/22/2011 5:48 a.m. Discuss
Little Rock police investigators flew to Richmond, Va., over the weekend to testify in this week’s federal trial of a man accused in the kidnapping and beating death of a North Little Rock teenager in 2010.
Acquittal in ’96 slaying leaves 2 families in tears
posted: 10/27/2011 5:47 a.m. Comments 2
Members of two families once brought together by marriage gushed with conflicting emotions after a jury acquitted a man accused of killing his then-mother-in-law.
Kept lid on ’96 murder, jury hears ex-wife say
posted: 10/26/2011 4:30 a.m. Discuss
Reta Flowers switched from tearful to surly and back again during two hours of testimony Tuesday in the second trial of her ex-husband, who is accused of killing her mother.
Man accused in ’96 slaying starts 2nd trial
posted: 10/25/2011 5:25 a.m. Discuss
The second trial of a former Little Rock resident in the killing of his ex-mother-in-law began Monday.
Federal suit filed against LR police
posted: 10/18/2011 5:21 a.m.
Comments 13
A Little Rock police detective filed a federal lawsuit Monday against his own department and the police chief, saying his father’s December 2010 shooting death was “tragic and totally avoidable.” Two off-duty police officers had no reason to enter Eugene Ellison’s apartment the night officer Donna Lesher shot the 67-year-old man in the chest, said Michael J. Laux, a lawyer hired by Little Rock detective Troy Ellison and his family, at a news conference Monday.
Drug indictees fill court
posted: 10/14/2011 6:01 a.m.
Comment 1
The first court appearance for most of the people indicted in a wide-ranging federal drug and corruption probe created a tumultuous panorama at Little Rock’s federal courts building Thursday.
Lab will check work on DNA, chief says
posted: 08/27/2011 5:04 a.m. Discuss
The state Crime Laboratory likely will play only a limited role in a promised attempt to exonerate three West Memphis men convicted of murder in 1994, lab Director Kermit Channell said Friday.
Murder case declared mistrial
posted: 08/17/2011 5:37 a.m. Discuss
Goldie Thornsberry’s family members wailed in disbelief Tuesday when a judge declared a mistrial in the murder case against Raymond Robert Lee Douglas.
15 years later, trial launches in slaying
posted: 08/16/2011 5:27 a.m. Discuss
The trial of a man accused of killing his former mother-in-law started Monday with gory details of how Goldie Thornsberry’s hands were cut off before her body was stuffed into a well.
10 JPs sign letter asking for details on coroner’s exit
posted: 08/04/2011 3:45 a.m. Discuss
At least 10 members of the Pulaski County Quorum Court agreed to have their names on a letter to County Judge Buddy Villines asking for a meeting to discuss the circumstances surrounding the April resignation of Coroner Garland Camper.
Plot thickens: Report casts ex-LR lawyer in a key role
posted: 07/10/2011 5:41 a.m. Discuss
Former Little Rock attorney Elgin Clemons plays a prominent role in a legal quagmire that involves millions of dollars from more than 200 jilted investors.
One deadly night
posted: 07/03/2011 3:47 a.m. Comments 10
“Send me some units! Send me some units!” a young woman’s voice shrieked over Little Rock police radios. “He’s got my stick!” The call for help came at 8:03 p.m. on the bitterly cold night of Dec. 9.
Thumbs up, state Crime Lab told
posted: 06/02/2011 3:48 a.m. Discuss
Staff at the Arkansas Crime Laboratory celebrated Wednesday after receiving word that the National Association of Medical Examiners has granted the agency national accreditation — a distinction the lab hasn’t enjoyed since 2008.
No charges for LR officer in ’10 death
posted: 05/10/2011 5:14 a.m. Comment 1
Criminal charges will not be filed against an off-duty Little Rock police officer who fatally shot a 67-year-old man during a struggle inside the man’s apartment last December, Pulaski County prosecutors said Monday.
Lawyer’s career unravels in wake of broken pledges
posted: 05/08/2011 4 a.m. Comments 2
Former Little Rock attorney Elgin Clemons’ trail of unfulfilled financial pledges extends beyond the Arkansas Arts Center, an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette investigation shows.
Couple’s trust cost retirement
posted: 05/08/2011 3:48 a.m. Discuss
Linda O’Keefe and her husband connected with Little Rock attorney Elgin Clemons after the couple invested $745,000 in Robert Andres’ Houston-based company, Bear and Bull Strategies.
Attorney: Being shut out of case
posted: 05/06/2011 4:32 a.m. Discuss
A Chicago attorney hired by the family of a 67-yearold man shot and killed by an off-duty Little Rock police officer in December says the prosecuting attorney investigating the death is trying to shut the lawyer out of a meeting about the case.
Man tried to slay 3, police say
posted: 04/19/2011 6:27 a.m. Discuss
Robert Carter Jr., 23, was trying to kill his ex-girlfriend and their two young daughters Sunday morning when he drove his van into a Dermott yard where the mother and children were playing, authorities said Monday.
Night of storms kills 7 in state
posted: 04/16/2011 3:54 a.m.
Comment 1
A raging line of storms raced through Arkansas early Friday morning, killing seven people.
Murder suspect ruled fit for trial
posted: 04/09/2011 4:01 a.m. Discuss
After listening to two psychiatrists give opposing testimony about John B. Yancey Jr.’s mental health, a judge ruled Friday that he’s fit for trial and set a date in October for Yancey to face accusations that he raped and killed Treva Parks in her Little Rock apartment in 1990.
Group hands out breast-care grants
posted: 04/02/2011 4:50 a.m. Discuss
The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Arkansas affiliate awarded 21 grants totaling $1.2 million to Arkansas organizations that help detect, treat and raise awareness about breast cancer.
Game & Fish urges high court to toss turkey-hunting lawsuit
posted: 04/02/2011 3:37 a.m. Discuss
A legal challenge by the grandson of millionaire outdoorsman Sheffield Nelson to the decision by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission to cancel the 2009 fall turkey-hunting season should be thrown out by the state Supreme Court, the agency’s lawyers argue in the latest round of filings in the 18-month-old court battle.
Rights breach cost life, kin say
posted: 03/25/2011 4 a.m. Discuss
Eugene Ellison’s family filed a complaint with the FBI contending his civil rights were violated when an off-duty Little Rock police officer shot and killed the 67-year-old man in December.
As crisis grows, state’s Japanese worry about kin
posted: 03/20/2011 2:16 a.m. Discuss
Yoko Kowata remains worried about her 80-year-old grandmother. Takako Fisher is proud of her family’s resilience and positive attitude in the face of disaster.
Bail met for theft suspect Watkins
posted: 03/17/2011 4:26 a.m. Discuss
Former Sharp County developer Wayne Watkins surrendered his passport and is free again after spending less than two weeks in the Ash Flat jail.
Laptops aid tissue donation
posted: 03/07/2011 5:30 a.m. Comment 1
Steve Shadid says the only anger he harbors about the 2007 death of his 19-year-old daughter is that no one in the “tsunami” of supporters that arrived after her car accident broached the topic of tissue or organ donation.
Judge adds restrictions to ex-developer’s bail
posted: 03/01/2011 5:35 a.m. Comment 1
Former Sharp County developer Wayne Watkins, who returned to Arkansas last week after four years in Mexico, remains in custody at the county jail in Ash Flat.
Bail set, fought; returnee not free
posted: 02/25/2011 4:56 a.m. Discuss
A district judge set bail for developer Wayne Watkins at $106,910.20 Thursday, but Watkins will remain in the Sharp County jail at least through the weekend pending a circuit court hearing scheduled for Monday.
Remains identified as missing woman, 28
posted: 02/24/2011 3:29 a.m. Discuss
Human remains found by a boy on a west Pulaski County hilltop last week belong to Margo Lynn Jordan, a 28-year-old Paron woman who disappeared in April.
Fugitive developer on way to Ash Flat
posted: 02/23/2011 6:07 a.m. Comments 2
A Sharp County deputy is driving fugitive developer Wayne Watkins from Texas to Ash Flat today to face a felony theft charge and one-time clients who say he cheated them out of thousands of dollars.
LOST PARADISE: Victims look for help, find little
updated: 02/22/2011 9:21 a.m.
When victims of Wayne Watkins' failed land deals turned to government agencies for help, they felt further victimized.
State set to sue over land deals, McDaniel says
updated: 02/22/2011 9:22 a.m.
Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said Monday that he plans to file a lawsuit on behalf of consumers against Sharp County developer Wayne Watkins, whose conduct McDaniel described as "reprehensible."
LOST PARADISE: Land buyers left empty-handed
updated: 02/22/2011 9:20 a.m.
HARDY - For two decades, people in this northcentral Arkansas town saw Wayne Watkins as a visionary who created resort developments along the scenic Spring River and boosted the area economy. Now, people he lured here to buy property see him as a thief.
1991 murder case getting a 2nd look
posted: 02/13/2011 4:02 a.m. Comment 1
Although Little Rock police still hold that the right man was arrested and tried for the killing of Huey Cox in 1991, Cox’s family and nationally renowned forensic profilers are just as adamant that police nabbed the wrong guy.
Suspect in 1997 killing arrested
posted: 01/26/2011 4:48 a.m. Comment 1
A suspect in a 1997 shooting homicide turned himself in Tuesday morning, professing his innocence.
Suspect named in ’97 killing
posted: 01/25/2011 5:14 a.m. Discuss
Little Rock police on Monday released the name of the suspect in a 1997 shooting homicide.
Tension in police department hits squall
posted: 01/16/2011 3:33 a.m. Comments 16
A year of rumor and racial innuendo within Little Rock police ranks flared into the public spotlight during a recent community meeting when a black former officer questioned Police Chief Stuart Thomas’ hiring of an officer who went to a Ku Klux Klan gathering in his youth.
Suspect in girl’s 1982 killing tells police dead uncle did it
posted: 01/08/2011 5:39 a.m. Comments 2
The only living suspect in the 1982 death of 12-year-old Carmeletta Green has told Little Rock police that he believes his late uncle killed the girl and dumped her body in the woods.
Attorneys buck claim that murder suspect fit for trial
posted: 01/08/2011 5:31 a.m. Discuss
Attorneys for John B. Yancey Jr. said they will challenge a state psychologist’s finding that their client is fit to stand trial over accusations that he raped and killed Treva Parks in her Little Rock apartment in 1990.
Lands chief’s car use referred to prosecutor
posted: 12/17/2010 4:32 a.m. Comments 6
State auditors have referred state Land Commissioner Mark Wilcox’s personal use of state vehicles to the Pulaski County prosecutor for review.
State police rule out LR-shooting inquiry
posted: 12/16/2010 5:53 a.m. Comments 10
Because of the “highly unusual” nature of last week’s police shooting death, Little Rock Police Chief Stuart Thomas asked Arkansas State Police on Tuesday to conduct an independent investigation.
LR police set to appeal officer’s reinstatement
posted: 12/15/2010 5:15 a.m. Discuss
Little Rock Police Department leaders say they will appeal last month’s Civil Service Commission ruling that reinstated an officer who had been fired after being caught on camera using a racial slur.
LR police shooting probed
posted: 12/14/2010 5:57 a.m. Comments 4
Four days after the police shooting death of a 67-year old man alone in his apartment, questions have surfaced about the Little Rock Police Department’s official account of the shooting and its role in the investigation.
LR officer’s reprieve stirs racial tensions
posted: 12/12/2010 3:35 a.m. Comments 6
Black police officers and civilians say they’re still angry over last month’s reinstatement of a young, white Little Rock officer who was fired after being recorded on video uttering a racial slur.
Crime Lab seeks duty tweak
posted: 12/11/2010 5:10 a.m. Discuss
State Crime Laboratory leaders will ask the Arkansas Legislature to make the lab director, instead of the lab’s governor-appointed board, responsible for appointing the state’s chief medical examiner, and thus end a decades-old governance structure.
Panel reinstates fired LR officer
posted: 11/19/2010 5:50 a.m. Comments 2
After an emotional appeal hearing, the Little Rock Civil Service Commission decided by a split vote Thursday to give police officer David Edgmon his job back.
