Tabitha Pebler (left) and Stacie Hickman (Photos courtesy of Fulton County Sheriff’s Office)
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office has identified two females as suspects in two separate homicides from last week. Thirty-year-old Stacie Hickman was booked into the Fulton County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder, felony with a firearm and abuse of a corpse, and her bond is set at $1 million. Forty-three-year-old Tabitha Pebler was booked on suspicion of second-degree murder, and her bond is set at $25,000.
According to one probable cause affidavit, the sheriff’s office was dispatched Wednesday to a residence east of Glencoe on Stonewood Road after Pebler called dispatch and reportedly admitted to shooting her son, later identified as 27-year-old Brandon Chrisco.
In a post Miranda interview, Pebler stated she was mowing a lawn, and the mower got stuck. She reportedly asked for Chrisco’s assistance, and he was upset about having to get the mower unstuck. Pebler claims she got the mower stuck a second time, and Chrisco called her a name and shoved her off the mower.
Pebler claims she went to a vehicle and removed a pistol from the console. She stated Chrisco was coming after her, and she fired several warning shots. Pebler then reportedly moved toward Chrisco and fired a shot at him. She claimed she was just wanting to scare him, but a bullet passed through the upper left side of his chest.
Another affidavit shows the Fulton County 911 operator received a call Thursday from a male saying a body was lying at his gate northwest of Viola on Briarwood Road. Sheriff Jake Smith and a deputy responded and located the body of 59-year-old David Southerland with a wound to his back and his head beaten. There was also barbed wire around his neck, and an attempt to burn his body was made. A partial can of lighter fluid was among the items found at the scene.
The next day, the complainant stated Hickman borrowed his pickup truck last Tuesday. She asked Southerland to follow her, and that was the last time he saw him.
The truck was returned Wednesday afternoon, and the complainant stated a male residing in a shop building behind his home said he heard the truck drive in but didn’t hear anyone leave.
The complainant also claimed Southerland left in another vehicle of his, and after it appeared Southerland had been murdered, a theft report was made on the vehicle. Friday evening, a Salem officer spotted the vehicle occupied by Hickman in front of the Arkansas Department of Transportation building on U.S. Highway 62/412, and she was taken into custody.
The next day, Hickman was interviewed, and she reportedly admitted to shooting and burning Southerland’s body. She claimed Southerland was attempting to get some land she was supposed to receive. Hickman stated she shot Southerland with a rifle one time.
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