SHERWOOD, Ark. – The arraignment of a suspect in the Nov. 30 murder of an elderly woman in her home is revealing new details on the case.
Chris Anthony Arnold, 51, of Jacksonville, is charged with Capital Murder in the killing of Maurine Jones, 85.
He is being held on $500,000 bond. His jail record also notes a string of other charges.
According to the arrest affidavit for Arnold, he is the son of a good friend of the victim and often fished in a lake behind Jones’ home on Shoshoni Drive. That good friend had gone to Jones’ home when she did not come to work at their church as expected. She found a back door open and Jones’ body lying in a hallway.
The arrest affidavit states that Jones’ glasses were found bent and damaged and that there was evidence that bleach had been poured on her body.
When first interviewed by police, Arnold told them he had helped Jones clean herself up after she fell down some steps on her back porch. However, police said there was no evidence of a fall outside her home. It was also noted that Arnold kept changing details about what happened when he was at Jones’ home.
Detectives say they found Arnold’s DNA on the victim’s hands and that he strangled her with a scarf.
