More than a week has passed since a 70-year-old Jefferson County man died after an attack in his home.
Jefferson County sheriff's officials said Domingo Frausto had "significant injuries" after an apparent beating at his home in the 1900 block of Arkansas 365 South near Redfield on Sept. 10. Officials at the time reported that Frausto had been taken to a Little Rock hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.
The Pulaski County coroner's office pronounced Frausto dead at 10:35 a.m. on Sept. 17. His body was sent to the state Crime Laboratory.
Frausto's slaying is among 11 in Jefferson County for which no suspect has yet been publicly identified.
Ten of those deaths occurred within the Pine Bluff city limits, and the Pine Bluff Police Department is investigating all but one. In that case, a minor was charged with second-degree murder after a youth was killed June 29 in the 2700 block of West 37th Avenue, according to a public information officer. The underage suspect's name was not released.
Pine Bluff interim Police Chief Lloyd Franklin said he has personally looked into the four cases that occurred since he took office July 20.
"I've talked to several families about the loss of their loved ones, especially the ones that have occurred since I've been here," he said. "I think in some cases we have people afraid to talk about the incident. I'm hoping we can improve relations with the public and make it better to where they get access to us for information."
There have been 20 slayings inside Pine Bluff limits and five others in Jefferson County.
Franklin, a former Arkansas State Police captain, boasted however that police have reduced violent crime since his arrival at headquarters.
"I've had people call me about these crimes," he said. "I take them one at a time."
Maj. Gary McClain of the Jefferson County sheriff's office said each investigation into a killing is "unique," when asked what obstacles investigators typically encounter in identifying suspects.
"A lot of incidents are domestic-related," McClain said. "A lot of times, it's obvious who the suspect is, but not all of them are like that. Our most recent one, we have active working leads, but we haven't identified a suspect, but everything is circumstantial. We follow up on leads, develop a timeline and research information. Hopefully, they'll make progress toward naming a suspect."