The last of three suspects charged in the 2019 stabbing and beating death, and robbery, of a Hot Springs woman was sentenced to 28 years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday in Garland County Circuit Court.
Dillon Wayne Orrell, 34, of Hot Springs, who has remained in custody since his arrest on Oct. 19, 2019, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Laura Ann Dickinson, 58, who was found dead in her home at 208 Linwood St. on Oct. 18, 2019. An additional charge of aggravated robbery was withdrawn.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Kara Petro said Thursday Orrell will have to serve his 28-year sentence "day for day" because he was previously convicted of a felony count of residential burglary, which qualifies as a violent offense.
One accomplice, April Nicole Osborne, 26, of Hot Springs, pleaded guilty on Oct. 5 to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. She was also sentenced to 20 years on one count of aggravated robbery. The two sentences will run consecutively, for a total of 60 years and she will have to serve 70%, or 42 years, before she is eligible for parole.
A second accomplice, Isabelle Marcial-Talley, 20, also of Hot Springs, had pleaded guilty to the same charges in April and was sentenced to 40 years for first-degree murder and 10 years for aggravated robbery, to run consecutively for a total of 50 years in prison and will have to serve at least 35 years before she's eligible for parole.
Petro said neither Osborne nor Marcial-Talley had any prior criminal history. All three were originally charged with capital murder, but she amended the charge to first-degree murder for Osborne and Marcia-Talley because they didn't qualify under the law for the death penalty because mental evaluations determined they both had low IQs.
She said Thursday she amended Orrell's charge as well because he was less involved in the actual attack on Dickinson and Marcial-Talley's sentence was less than Osborne's because she had agreed to testify against the others if they went to trial.
Petro noted she consulted with the victim's family before each of the plea deals.
Osborne, Marcial-Talley and Orrell were all arrested on Oct. 19, 2019, and each has remained in custody since then in lieu of a $500,000 bond. Mental evaluations were later ordered for both Osborne and Marcial-Talley, but both were found fit to proceed, leading to their eventual guilty pleas.
The probable cause affidavit, which has been sealed by court order for over three years, was obtained by The Sentinel-Record on Thursday, providing the first details of Dickinson's death.
On Oct. 18, 2019, Hot Springs police responded to 208 Linwood Ave. regarding a welfare check and found a white female, later identified as Dickinson, deceased on the bathroom floor with "numerous wounds" as the result of a battery and stabbing.
It was later discovered the victim's vehicle, a silver 2009 Ford Fusion, valued at $3,646, was missing. Witnesses provided information that Orrell and Osborne had taken the car and were seen driving it in Hot Springs.
Warrants for theft by receiving for Orrell and Osborne were issued and they were subsequently arrested. While at the police department, Osborne admitted she, Orrell and Marcial-Talley had gone to the Linwood residence "to confront" Dickinson, but she would not allow them inside.
Osborne said they forced their way inside and then they "began physically battering her which eventually resulted in her death." She said they searched through Dickinson's residence "looking for her car keys and purse" after beating her and after locating the purse and keys they left in her vehicle.
Orrell also admitted to being involved in the incident, the affidavit states. He told police Osborne and Marcial-Talley forced their way inside the residence and began beating Dickinson. He admitted to entering the residence and "observing the battery" and to looking for the keys and leaving in Dickinson's car.
In a news release issued on Oct. 19, 2019, police said the victim's murder was "not a random act" and was related to the theft of her car. The investigation later determined Orrell, Osborne and Marcial-Talley were involved in the homicide and warrants were issued and all three were arrested.
"It appears the victim and suspects knew each other and that this was not a random act. The case is still under investigation," the release said. No other details were released after the case was sealed and a gag order limiting pretrial publicity was issued.
According to court records, Orrell was convicted of residential burglary in Garland County in 2009, and sentenced to six years' probation. He was convicted again in 2010 of possession of a firearm by certain persons and sentenced to five years in prison and again in 2013 of theft by receiving over $5,000 and sentenced to eight years in prison but was later paroled.