An Arkansas man who was recaptured four days after escaping from jail is now facing a murder charge after the man he was initially accused of assaulting died, police said.
Aaron Singleton, 27, was arrested Dec. 1 in connection with an attack on Brenun Clayton, 40, authorities said. Clayton, who was from Little Rock, died Sunday of injuries suffered in that attack, a spokesman for the Malvern Police Department said.
Surveillance footage outside a home in the 500 block of Oaklawn Street in Malvern showed Singleton striking Clayton in the face, causing him to fall backward onto a concrete walkway outside the home and suffer a serious head injury, according to a police report.
Singleton was initially charged with first-degree battery and false imprisonment. A police report says Singleton kept Clayton in the home for about an hour before taking him to Baptist Medical Health Center in Malvern where he was admitted in critical condition.
Singleton now faces a second-degree murder charge, as does Stephanie Jones, who police say was at the scene of the attack.
Jones, 32, was initially arrested on an accomplice charge, as well as counts of tampering with evidence and obstruction of governmental operations after police found that her statement did not match the video of the assault and that Clayton's blood seemed to have been washed off her front porch, the report said.
Singleton escaped from the Hot Spring County jail after overpowering a jailer around noon Dec. 3, according to reports. He was captured Dec. 7 in Malvern and is being held without bail. He is also accused of violating parole.
Jones was released on bail but has since been taken back into custody, according to authorities. She is being held in lieu of $25,000 bond.
State Desk on 12/15/2017