A man was arrested Thursday afternoon in Marked Tree in connection to a double homicide that occurred in Jonesboro, authorities said.
Officers with the Jonesboro Police Department said Rhatez Demore Furlow, 30, was apprehended by Marked Tree police in connection to the deaths of Kafena Russell, 37, and her brother Johnny Russell, 38, who were fatally shot in an apartment near the Arkansas State University campus.
The two siblings were found just after 8 a.m. Thursday in the apartment in the 400 block of Melrose Street, Jonesboro Police Department spokesman Sally Smith said.
A citizen had flagged down police saying there were two dead people in the residence, Smith said.
A witness told police that he was standing outside his house when a man walked up to him and asked for a cigarette and some change. He said the man then told him that his cousin was dead inside the apartment before disappearing from the scene.
Police now believe the homicide happened on Wednesday evening, Smith said. People in the area told police they heard gunshots around 11 p.m. Wednesday night, though the 911 dispatch received no calls reporting the gunfire.
Furlow appeared before Judge Tommy Fowler on Thursday afternoon and was charged with two counts of first-degree murder along with a one count of possession of a firearm by a certain person. He was given a bond of $5 million and will be held at the Craighead County jail.