A parole hearing for a woman involved in the murder of an elderly Midway Couple and the burning of their home in early November 2015 has been set for mid-September.
In early August 2016, Mikayla Mynk was sentenced to 20 years in prison to be followed by 15-years probation.
Two others, Nicholas Roos and Zach Grayham, were also charged and convicted in the case. The three people were all in their twenties at the time of the crime.
Mynk was originally charged with two counts of capital murder and two counts of arson. Those charges were dropped when the investigation showed Mynk played a fairly minor role in the crime compared to her two male companions. She pled guilty to charges of aggravated residential burglary and theft of property.
Investigation pointed to Roos as the main instigator behind the crime. He is now serving life in prison without parole and Grayham was sentenced to a 25-year prison sentence.
Prosecutor David Ethredge said he would oppose granting Mynk’s parole.
THE MURDER
Donald and LaDonna Rice, both in their 70s, had celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary shortly before they were killed.
Mynk dropped Roos and Grayham off at the Rice residence located along County Road 508 and, ironically, left to attend a funeral.
During one appearance, Mynk told the court she had been in a dating relationship with Roos. She said she was aware he needed money and was planning to rob a house, but said she had no way of knowing someone would be killed.
The incident began when Roos knocked on the door of the Rice home. When LaDonna Rice opened the door, Roos told the woman his vehicle had broken down and he needed help. She then called her husband to the door.
After seeing that Roos was armed, Donald Rice is reported to have struggled with the much younger man before being shot in the face.
Roos told investigators LaDonna Rice began screaming and he threw her to the floor and shot her in the head as she was looking up at him.
According to court documents, Roos and Grayham removed various items of property from the house, put them in a truck belonging to the Rice couple and Roos set the large home on fire.
They left in the truck, a 2015 GMC Sierra Denali. The vehicle was later found burned near Bruce Creek off County Road 1.
REMAINS DISCOVERED
After the rubble from the house cooled sufficiently, officers and investigators from several agencies – including specialized arson investigators from the Arkansas State Police – picked through the massive amount of debris aided by heavy equipment provided by the Baxter County Road and Bridge Department.
Eventually, the remains of the Rice couple were discovered and identified using DNA matching. During a court hearing, it was reported Donald Rice had soot in his lungs indicating he was likely alive when Roos set fire to the house.
According to court records, Roos’ apparent motive in planning a burglary was to obtain cash to hire a lawyer to represent him in a child custody case.
Roos has been active since being in prison, filing motions for post-conviction relief and recently filing a federal lawsuit to object to the soggy tofu he was being fed in prison and other issues.
The tofu suit was recently denied in its entirety by a federal judge in Little Rock.
Roos is serving his sentence at the Varner Unit of the state prison system at Gould, Grayham at the North Central Unit at Calico Rock and Mynk at the Wrightsville Womens Unit.
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