The attempted murder trial of a Malvern man accused of breaking into his ex-wife's home in Hot Springs and stabbing her multiple times last year began Wednesday in Garland County Circuit Court.
Tony Leon Henderson, 46, who has remained in custody since his arrest the night of the alleged attack on Feb. 2, 2017, is charged with criminal attempt at first-degree murder, amended from an original charge of second-degree domestic battery, and aggravated residential burglary and faces up to life in prison on each charge if convicted.
During her opening remarks, Deputy Prosecutor Kara Petro, who is representing the state along with Chief Deputy Prosecutor Joe Graham, told the eight-man, four-woman jury that back in 1994, when Tony Henderson was still married to the victim, Rochelle Henderson, he shot her with a shotgun in front of witnesses, injuring her badly.
Tony Henderson was convicted of wife battery and sentenced to 10 years in prison and his wife, who spent weeks recovering in the hospital from her gunshot wound, divorced him while he was in prison.
He was later paroled and beginning in September 2016 had started trying to form a relationship with their son, Na'Anthony Henderson, and his grandchildren. Rochelle Henderson was "OK with it at first," Petro said, but when he started trying to pursue a romantic relationship with her "it made her uncomfortable."
On Feb. 2, 2017, Rochelle Henderson came home from work to her residence on Illinois Street around 5 p.m. and found her ex-husband there with her son and her nephew, Tyquince White, who both lived with her at the time. Petro said she told her son and nephew that Tony Henderson shouldn't be there and for them to take him somewhere.
Petro said Rochelle Henderson then left and her son and nephew took Tony Henderson to a family member's house on Spring Street, dropped him off and went to play basketball. After calling her son to make sure her ex-husband was gone, she came back home but when she got inside she "heard a voice" even though "no one was supposed to be there."
Petro said she went back to her car and after seeing her bedroom light turn on and off, she called her son, who quickly returned with White, and all three of them went inside. They discovered her bedroom door, which had been locked, had been kicked open and then they heard someone moving around inside.
Petro said Rochelle Henderson heard White yell, "It's Tony. He's a got a knife! Run!" and ran toward her neighbor's house, but Tony Henderson caught up to her and "stabbed her over and over and over again." Her son and White "rushed over" and got him off her so she was able to run to her car to get away.
She drove herself to National Park Medical Center even though she was "bleeding profusely" and "stumbled into the ER" where she was treated for four stab wounds to her back and two to her chest. Petro noted the victim's breast had prevented the knife from penetrating her heart.
Petro said Hot Springs police responded to the residence and discovered the son's bedroom window had been pried open to make entry and also discovered wet paper towels that had been put on the burners on the kitchen stove. They located Tony Henderson a block away "covered in blood" and he told police the knife was back at the house.
Petro said the prosecution intended to show Tony Henderson's intent that night was to kill his ex-wife.
Henderson's attorney, Clay Janske, cautioned the jury that opening remarks were not evidence and urged them to "keep an open mind" and to "listen to all the evidence" in the case.
Na'Anthony Henderson testified he had called his father earlier that day to ask him for money and had arranged to meet him at a liquor store, but got a flat tire and didn't make it there. When he returned home, he found his father at his house with White and stressed "I wasn't expecting him to be there" and "my mama didn't want him there."
He said his mother came home and told them she wanted everyone gone and he told her he would get his father out of there and she left. He said he went to talk to his father and found him holding a knife and threatening him, so he called White for help. He said he got the knife away from his father and got him in his car and dropped him off.
He said he spoke to his father a short time later and he told him he was "almost back to Malvern," but then his mother called him and asked him if they had left the lights on at the house. He told her they hadn't, and when she told him she heard voices inside the house "I told her to get out until we got there."
The three of them went in and found the bedroom door kicked open and "next thing you know" his father came running out of the room and "chased my mama out of the house." He said his father jumped on her knocking her to the ground and was stabbing her.
"I put him in a headlock so she could get free," he said. After his father got up, Na'Anthony Henderson said he told him, "'Ya'll are (expletive) with my feelings! I'm going to kill you!" He said he told his father, "Well, kill me then" and his father chased him briefly and then ran off.
Under cross by Janske, Na'Anthony Henderson said his father had been to the residence before, initially saying he had only been there twice but later saying it was "five or six times." He said his father had played basketball with he and White a few times and his father was wanting to spend time with his grandchildren.
He said he believed his father was intoxicated the day of the incident and he didn't know where he got the knife he had initially threatened him with.
White testified he smelled alcohol on Tony Henderson's breath when he first came to the house. He also said when Tony Henderson came running out of the backroom he heard him "stumbling and then he fell" at one point before he started chasing Rochelle Henderson, yelling at her, "Talk to me! Talk to me!"
He said he didn't actually see Tony Henderson stab her, but saw them "tussling" and heard her say she was bleeding before they tackled him and got him off her. White injured his hand during the altercation, he said.
When questioned by Janske, White said he had seen Tony Henderson at the residence several times, coming to visit his son and his grandchildren.
Local on 03/29/2018