A parolee charged with capital murder in the death of Betty Slaughter, 80, of Hot Springs, whose burned body was found Aug. 25 in a Royal cemetery, pleaded not guilty Friday morning in Garland County District Court as prosecutors indicated they plan to seek the death penalty.
Kevin Kay Buerke, 26, a parolee out of Wisconsin now living in Hot Springs, appeared via video during a plea and arraignment hearing before Judge Ralph Ohm, who kept Buerke's bond at zero and set a felony review hearing for Oct. 22, although the case will likely be bound over to Garland County Circuit Court before then.
The arrest warrant and probable cause affidavit for Buerke, which was obtained by The Sentinel-Record Thursday evening, was ordered sealed Friday morning by Ohm, who also issued a gag order limiting pretrial publicity in the case.
Buerke has been in custody since his arrest Aug. 23 on a felony charge of second-degree forgery, also allegedly involving Slaughter, and had been held on a zero bond parole hold. He had pleaded not guilty to the forgery charge on Aug. 24 with a felony review hearing set for Oct. 15.
Prosecuting Attorney Michelle Lawrence and Deputy Prosecutor Kara Petro appeared for the state and indicated they planned to seek the death penalty, according to court records.
According to Wisconsin Department of Corrections records, Buerke pleaded no contest in December 2014 to misappropriating identity documents to obtain money orders, a felony punishable by up to six years in prison. He was sentenced to 14 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised parole.
Garland County sheriff's Lt. Joel Ware said Thursday investigators had developed Buerke as a suspect early on in the investigation and worked with the Arkansas State Crime Lab and the prosecutor's office in obtaining enough evidence to file the charge against him Thursday afternoon.
Friends had reported Slaughter missing from her residence on Aug. 22 and sheriff's investigators who responded to her house found evidence of foul play. Footage from a neighbor's surveillance camera indicated a white male in a gold Ford Explorer was allegedly at the residence on Aug. 21, the last time Slaughter was heard from.
Investigators allegedly located the vehicle and determined Buerke had been in possession of it at the time. They also obtained information Buerke had gone to a local bank on Aug. 22 with paperwork granting him power of attorney for Slaughter which was later determined to be counterfeit, resulting in the forgery charge.
Buerke was arrested the next day when he met with his parole officer and was reportedly driving the Ford Explorer at the time. Evidence was found in the Explorer that also allegedly linked him to Slaughter's death, including blood later matched to Slaughter.
Local on 09/01/2018