SPRINGDALE -- Two men who police say killed a Springdale man in retaliation for sexually abusing a girl will have an arraignment next week.
Reginald Baker, 33, of Seligman, Mo., and Daniel Blanks, 43, of Fort Smith will be arraigned at 7:45 a.m Wednesday on charges of capital murder, kidnapping and burglary. Baker and Blanks are accused of killing Richard Phillips, 39, on Nov. 23 in retaliation for his having sexually abused a girl they knew when she was 6 years old, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Hunters discovered Phillips' body Nov. 28 in the Mark Twain National Forest in Barry County, Mo., according to the affidavit.
Police determined Phillips died in Springdale, and the case will be prosecuted in Washington County.
The girl told Baker and Blanks about the abuse at a birthday party in October, and Baker became angry, grabbed a knife from the kitchen and wanted to kill Phillips at the party, the affidavit says. She said she was able to calm Baker down and asked him not to hurt Phillips.
Springdale police were called around 8:15 p.m. Nov. 23 for a welfare check by a woman who said she could hear people fighting in a nearby apartment, according to a Police Department news release.
Officers talked to a man in the apartment who said he was there "hanging out" with Phillips when a group of men arrived. The man told police Phillips and the men began to argue and then fight. The men took Phillips from the apartment and left the area, the man told police, saying he didn't know who the men were, but it appeared Phillips knew them, according to the release.
Springdale police issued an alert for Phillips after they found a trail of blood leading from his apartment through the complex's parking lot at 1252 Cooper Drive, according to a Police Department press release.
Baker and Blanks were arrested Nov. 26 in Tulsa, Okla. Police used security camera video from Phillips' Springdale apartment parking lot to identify a pickup they say was used to take Phillips away.
Phillips' body was nude and had been badly beaten and shot several times, according to the affidavit.
Baker and Blanks were extradited from the Tulsa Jail and booked into the Washington County Detention Center on Dec. 1. They are being held without bond.
Daniel Blanks
Reginald Baker