A local man whose body was dumped at Greenwood Cemetery last month was shot to death, beaten and stabbed after using a counterfeit $100 bill to pay for illegal drugs, according to court documents filed Thursday.
The body of Cory D. Richardson, 31, was discovered Oct. 23 on a hillside to the east of the cemetery's main entrance at 701 Greenwood Ave. by a resident who was walking his dog.
In total, police say seven people were present when Richardson was killed.
Steven Wood, 42, of Hot Springs, was arrested Wednesday in Malvern on a felony charge of first-degree murder, punishable by up to life in prison. Wood and Stephanie Shell, 21, of Malvern, who was arrested at the same time, were each charged with hindering apprehension or prosecution, punishable by up to 20 years.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Wood and Shell were allegedly involved in removing the body from the murder scene and cleaning up Richardson's blood and other evidence.
An autopsy conducted at the state crime lab determined that Richardson died as the result of a gunshot that entered his upper left buttocks and exited his abdomen. The autopsy report also indicated evidence of post mortem injuries to Richardson's body, including blunt force trauma to his head and a stab wound to his left thigh.
The affidavit said that, a couple of hours after Richardson's body was discovered, a witness came forward with specific, detailed information that, at the time, was known only by investigators. Melissa J. Wineland, 37, had allegedly confided details about the murder to the witness, and used their vehicle to transport a body.
The information led to the discovery of the reported murder scene, Wineland's residence at 106 N. Patterson, and the vehicle used to transport the body from the residence to the cemetery. Physical evidence at both places was consistent with the witness' statement.
Wineland was arrested Oct. 24 for tampering with evidence and pleaded not guilty to the charge the next day in Garland County District Court.
Wineland reportedly told police that, sometime during the afternoon of Oct. 22, Richardson used a counterfeit $100 bill to pay Wood for meth, which Wood got from her boyfriend, who is one of the people still being sought by police.
Later that same day, Wineland's boyfriend reportedly arrived at her house, angry at Wood for accepting the counterfeit bill. According to Wineland, he told Wood to locate Richardson and "deal with it," and left.
Wineland said she borrowed a friend's vehicle to run some errands and left the house. Shortly after 3 a.m., she received a call from her boyfriend, stating that Richardson had been shot at her house and she needed to get there to "clean up the mess."
When she arrived, Wood and another suspect being sought by police reportedly loaded Richardson into the car. Wineland and the other suspect took the body to the cemetery, then took the vehicle to a car wash to clean the blood from the back seat.
On Oct. 6, another witness who was inside the house when Richardson was murdered came forward and alleged that Wineland's boyfriend and his son-in-law showed up at the North Patterson residence at around 3 a.m. armed with handguns.
Jake L. Norwood, 28, of Hot Springs, who was arrested Nov. 5 and charged with tampering with evidence, Wood, Shell and the unnamed suspect who assisted Wineland in dumping the body were all reportedly inside the house at the time of the murder.
According to the witness, Wineland's boyfriend and his son-in-law reportedly began pistol whipping Richardson over the head, knocking him to the floor. As they continued to beat him, Wood allegedly jumped up and also began hitting Richardson.
Richardson was reportedly able to fight his way to his feet and took off running toward the kitchen, attempting to make it to the back door of the house. At that time, Wineland's boyfriend allegedly raised his gun and shot in Richardson's direction.
Wineland's boyfriend and his son-in-law were reportedly the only ones in the kitchen with Richardson at the time, and continued to beat him before a second shot was fired. The witness said they observed Richardson lying face down on the floor, yelling that he had been shot as the two suspects exited the kitchen area.
Wineland's boyfriend allegedly began cleaning blood off of his hands and the gun, when he looked to the witness and the suspect who helped Wineland dispose of the body and reportedly said, "y'all better clean this mess up," as he and his son-in-law left the scene.
After they left, Wood allegedly began kicking Richardson in the head, yelling at him to get out of the house. The witness reportedly stated Richardson kept repeating that he was dying as he was being kicked.
Richardson reportedly lost consciousness and appeared to be deceased as Wood and Shell allegedly dragged him out of the house. They reportedly placed his body behind an abandoned house next door until Wineland arrived with the vehicle used to transport the body.
When Shell returned inside the house, she allegedly bragged to the witness that she had hit Richardson with a flashlight because he wouldn't get up. She then reportedly grabbed a bucket, filled it with water and cleaning supplies and began cleaning the house of Richardson's blood and other evidence. Wood and Norwood allegedly assisted Shell in cleaning the crime scene with a water, bleach and hydrogen peroxide solution.
Officers are still searching for Wineland's boyfriend, who is the alleged gunman, and his son-in-law. The Hot Springs Police Department asks that anyone with information about the crime call 501-321-6789.
Local on 11/17/2017