Photos: (from left) Jeffery Scott Shepherd and James Edward Tyler Davis
Two men are being charged with murder and battery following the discovery of human remains in the Norfork area near the White River. The discovery follows an investigation into a citizen tip of a man reported missing to the Mountain Home Police Department (MHPD) in mid-September last year. The victim’s mother told law enforcement she had not had any contact with her son since last April.
Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery says the two men are 37-year-old Jeffery Scott Shepherd of Mountain Home and James Edward Tyler Davis of Norfork.
Sheriff Montgomery says the arrests follow investigators from MHPD beginning work on the missing person case with limited results until Dec. 5. At that time, they received a call from a concerned citizen purportedly having information that Tyler Wade Pickett, an alleged missing person, was deceased, and his body was somewhere in the Norfork area.
The concerned citizen provided sufficient names and information allowing investigators to conduct several interviews and gather more facts pointing to persons of interest.
The Baxter County Sheriff’s Office had previously investigated a burglary occurring at a residence on property near Norfork. During the burglary investigation, personal property was found at the scene later determined to belong to one of the individuals who had been developed as a person of interest in the missing person case.
Montgomery says acting on these leads, officers from the sheriff’s office began searching an area of property on Windswept Trail in the Norfork area on Dec. 17 looking for human remains. A search warrant for the property was obtained from a circuit judge after preliminary observations made that morning from a helicopter and ground crew.
Sheriff’s investigators located and recovered partial skeletal remains and personal articles. The remains were tentatively verified as human, and it was later confirmed through forensic testing they were those of the 20-year-old Pickett, who had been reported missing to MHPD last September.
While the search was being conducted, investigators interviewed Shepherd, who had been identified as a person of interest. Shepherd told investigators he had gone to the property in question on June 27, 2019 and met Davis and the victim.
Shepherd allegedly admitted within minutes of arriving at this location, he struck the victim in the head with his fist, knocking him unconscious and then kicking him on the ground. Shepherd said once the victim was unconscious, Davis brandished a .22 caliber rifle.
Shepherd and Davis reportedly walked the victim over to a nearby rubbish pile where he was shot multiple times. The two men then walked away, leaving the victim.
A female witness told investigators she had gone to the property with Davis and the victim in her vehicle. She said Davis gave her narcotics prior to Shepherd’s arrival.
The female said she had passed out and was not coherent during the time Shepherd was there. When she awoke, she realized the victim was no longer present and asked Davis about him. Davis allegedly replied, “He’s dead, don’t worry about him, and they will never find the body or the gun.”
Shepherd and Davis are charged with first-degree murder and first-degree battery.
Shepherd is in custody in the Baxter County Detention Center, and will appear in circuit court later this month, during which time the determination of bond may be addressed.
Davis is being held on unrelated charges in the Benton County Detention Center. He will be transported to Baxter County to answer the newest charges at a later date.
Montgomery says the investigation remains active.
Agencies involved in the investigation are the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office, Mountain Home Police Department, Arkansas State Police, Baxter County Coroner’s Office, the canine team with the Arkansas Department of Correction – North Central Unit, 14th Judicial District Drug Task Force and the Arkansas Department of Community Corrections.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI