A parolee out of Wisconsin now living in Hot Springs was charged Thursday evening with capital murder in the death of Betty Slaughter, 80, of Hot Springs, who was reported missing last week.
Kevin Kay Buerke, 26, who has been in custody since Aug. 23 on unrelated charges, could face up to life in prison without parole or the death penalty if convicted of the felony charge.
Garland County sheriff's Lt. Joel Ware said Thursday that investigators had developed Buerke as a possible suspect early in the investigation and "worked closely" with the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory and the Garland County prosecuting attorney's office to build the case against him "and are now able to identify him as the suspect."
Ware said Buerke had been on parole in Wisconsin but had transferred his parole to Arkansas. He listed an address in the 5800 block of Central Avenue at the time of his arrest Aug. 23.
According to a probable cause affidavit released Thursday, on Aug. 22, the Garland County Sheriff's Department responded to a residence on Legend Circle regarding a report that Slaughter had not been heard from or seen since Aug. 21 in the early afternoon.
Investigators were told by a close female friend of Slaughter's that she and another friend had made entry into Slaughter's residence after they couldn't contact her because it was unlike her not to answer the phone or the door. She also noted it was unusual for Slaughter's vehicle to be there and her not there and that they found Slaughter's dog locked in the bathroom which was "out of character" for Slaughter. A spare key to the house was also missing.
Investigators processed the residence and located several areas inside and outside the residence where blood droplets were located. There was also a single tooth on the sidewalk and a cigarette lighter next to some of the blood. They also recovered a Taser cartridge cover in the grass about 5 feet from where the tooth was found.
Investigators canvassed the area residences trying to locate any surveillance cameras that may have caught what happened and spoke to a next-door neighbor who stated his camera would show the roadway leading into Slaughter's property.
Investigators viewed the footage and saw Slaughter leaving and returning on Aug. 21 and then showed a gold Ford Explorer entering the property about seven minutes after Slaughter came home.
On Aug. 23, investigators went back to her residence to search further and found a second single tooth in the yard near where the original pool of blood was found. The affidavit said they had missed it earlier because it was covered by vegetation.
Investigators also located drag marks and other blood on the floor of the kitchen and on the glass of the front storm door, and found a bottle of Pinesol near the storm door.
That same day, based on bank records, investigators spoke with the manager of a local bank in reference to Slaughter. She stated that a man identified as Buerke came into the bank on Aug. 22 with paperwork granting him "power of attorney" for Slaughter, allegedly signed by her. He was seeking financial information on her and claimed to be her "financial adviser."
The power of attorney he presented was determined to be counterfeit and that Slaughter's signature was forged, the affidavit states. Investigators learned Buerke had obtained a new driver's license on Aug. 22 prior to presenting the power of attorney documents but had also recently obtained another one on Aug. 7. According to the woman who actually has power of attorney for Slaughter, Buerke has no direct affiliation with Slaughter.
Investigators were able to narrow down the year model of Ford Explorer seen in the video to be between 2002-2005 and then conducted a computer search for all registered Ford Explorers in Garland County for those years. One was identified belonging to a woman on Daisy Hill Circle in Royal.
Investigators located Buerke's address in the 5800 block of Central and determined that address actually belonged to Slaughter and was being rented by Buerke's grandparents.
Investigators learned Buerke was scheduled to meet with his parole officer at 3 p.m. on Aug. 23 and went to the Arkansas Community Correction office in Hot Springs and arrested Buerke on a felony charge of second-degree forgery, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, regarding the counterfeit power of attorney.
Investigators located a gold 2002 Ford Explorer in the parking lot and discovered Buerke had the keys to the vehicle in his pocket. They confirmed the vehicle was registered to the Royal woman.
Investigators noted numerous areas on the footstep part of the vehicle's bumper that had what appeared to be blood droplets on it. The vehicle was sent to the state crime lab to be tested for DNA.
That same day, investigators spoke to the Royal woman, who confirmed the Explorer belonged to her and that she had allowed Buerke to use it and noted he had possession of it for a couple of weeks. The Royal woman's partner told investigators Buerke had been staying with them for several weeks but paid no rent or bills.
The Royal woman reportedly told them that at some point within the last couple of days she had helped Buerke clean out the Explorer because he had gone to get gasoline and one of the gas cans had spilled in the rear of the vehicle. She also noted Buerke had been burning things in the yard that included "women's clothes."
Investigators confirmed there were two burn piles in the yard but were unable to determine what had been burned. They located a small box containing a Rosary necklace and a burned shovel. They also found a broken cellphone in the trash can on the side of the road which the Royal woman said belonged to Buerke and pieces of paper with the initials "B.F.S." on them.
The Royal woman's partner stated the shovel was in good condition and "thought it was strange" Buerke had burned it.
On Aug. 24, the Royal woman was interviewed again and reportedly stated "she felt in her heart Betty Slaughter was dead." The next day, the sheriff's department received a call that a body was discovered in Lowe Cemetery off Ragweed Valley Road. The body was "badly burned beyond recognition" and appeared to have been there several days, the affidavit said. It was noted the cemetery was about 5 miles from the Royal woman's house.
Investigators processed the scene and located several pieces of evidence, including a Taser prong, it said. The body was sent to the state crime lab for identification and to determine a cause of death.
On Wednesday, the woman who has power of attorney for Slaughter notified investigators a transaction had taken place on Slaughter's Sam's Club card that was dated on Aug. 21 for the purchase of a plane ticket in the amount of $534.80.
That same day, the crime lab confirmed the body found at the cemetery was Slaughter. The crime lab personnel also reported finding Slaughter's Sam's Club card in the Explorer and it was confirmed to be the same one used to purchase the plane ticket.
On Thursday, the crime lab notified investigators they took two swab samples from the Explorer, one from the back hatch door and one from the bottom center rubber strip of the back hatch, which were a DNA match to Slaughter.
Local on 08/31/2018