FAYETTEVILLE -- Samuel Sean Appling pleaded guilty Thursday to killing a rural Washington County man in an agreement allowing Appling to avoid a possible death sentence.
Instead, he received a 120-year prison sentence.
Appling, 24, of 10863 Rocky Creek Road in Washington County, was arrested Nov. 12, 2020, in connection with the murder of John Hurlburt, 53. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, kidnapping and aggravated residential burglary.
Washington County Circuit Judge Joanna Taylor sentenced Appling to 40 years at the Arkansas Department of Correction on each charge. The terms will run consecutively to reach the 120-year total. Appling was given credit for the 930 days he has spent in jail awaiting trial.
"You took the life. You did not have the right to do that," Taylor told Appling. "You broke into a man's home with the intent to kill him, and you did."
Hurlburt's daughters provided victim impact statements in which they lamented their children will not be able to grow up knowing their grandfather.
Deputies were called at 11:15 p.m. to 10671 Rocky Creek Road for a burglary in progress, according to the sheriff's office. Hurlburt told a 911 operator someone broke into his home and used an electronic stun device on him. Hurlburt said he hit the man on the head with a weight and the man fell off the porch, according to the sheriff's office. Hurlburt said the man may have had a gun.
Hurlburt identified his attacker later in the call as his daughter's boyfriend and then stopped talking, according the sheriff's office. Dispatchers said it sounded like Hurlburt was screaming for help.
Deputies saw a dim light heading north, parallel to Rocky Creek Road, and saw a man running east with reflective material on his back when they arrived at 11:28 p.m. The deputies chased him and ordered him to stop.
Appling reached the edge of a wooded area and collapsed, according to the sheriff's office. The deputies found a Ruger .45-caliber pistol covered in blood in the area. Blood also covered Appling's sleeves and gloves, and he had a fixed-blade knife in a sheath on his right hip. The knife blade and handle were covered in blood, according to the release.
Deputies found Hurlburt dead in his living room. He had been stabbed.
Prosecuting Attorney Matt Durrett said he was satisfied with the outcome.
"It's a good outcome. There are no happy endings to these cases. The family was satisfied, which is the most important thing," Durrett said. "They wanted to make sure that he didn't get out of prison, and this, for all intents and purposes, guarantees that. He'll be eligible for parole in 2086 at which time he'll be 88 years old, so they were satisfied with that, and that satisfied me."
Durrett said Appling used the stun device to disable Hurlburt and had brought zip ties with him.
"I don't know what he had prepared to do when he initially walked in there, if his plan was to tie him up and torture him or what," he said.
In his earlier notice to the court where the death penalty was being sought, Durrett said the aggravated circumstances required for the death penalty included the killing being committed in an especially cruel or depraved manner.
Appling was represented by Katherine S. Streett and James W. Wyatt of Little Rock.