Woman now to face murder charge

A 21-year-old Mountain Home woman will be charged with second-degree murder in the shooting last week of Chaseton Lewter, 19, said Prosecuting Attorney David Ethredge.

At 2:45 a.m. on Nov. 24, Mountain Home police responded to a shooting at an apartment at Cooper Estates Drive.

There, a witness told police that Savannah Nicole Wren shot Lewter, according to an arrest affidavit filed in Baxter County Circuit Court.

Officers found Lewter in the rear bedroom with a gunshot wound in his forehead, according to the affidavit from investigator Michael Day with the Mountain Home Police Department.

Sgt. Jay Volkman with the Police Department said Lewter was shot with a .22-caliber revolver.

Witnesses told police that Wren, who lived in the apartment, had fled on foot.

Lewter was transported to a Mountain Home hospital, then to Children's Hospital in Little Rock where he died the next day.

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"Several hours later, Wren was located and taken into custody after being tracked to Marion County," wrote Day. "Wren refused to speak to investigators after being read her Miranda warning."

A second witness at the apartment also told police that Wren shot Lewter, according to the affidavit.

Ethredge said Wren was initially charged with attempted second-degree murder, but that will be changed to second-degree murder this week.

Ethredge said a charge of second-degree murder is normally an indication that the homicide wasn't planned in advance. He declined to provide specifics about the case.

"We're still unsure how it all played out," said Volkman. "It's still being investigated."

Wren was being held Monday in the Baxter County jail. Her bail was initially set at $150,000, but that amount will be increased with the enhanced charge, said the prosecuting attorney.

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