An Arkansas resident was apprehended several hours after three of his family members were discovered dead from gunshot wounds in their residence. The Bryant Police Department, through a series of Facebook updates on Sunday, revealed that they responded to a distress call from a man who discovered his wife and her parents dead upon returning from work around 7:30 a.m. At the time of the incident, three children were present in the house but were unscathed.
Later that day, the police announced the arrest of a suspect, 34-year-old Jarrod Mitchell. The identities of the individuals were not disclosed by the police, but they confirmed that they were Mitchell’s sister and parents. The man who discovered the bodies was the husband of Mitchell’s sister. Upon arrival at the scene, the police found no evidence of forced entry into the house.
Mitchell was taken into custody at the Saline County Detention Facility on three charges of first-degree murder and is being held without bail. The police have not yet disclosed a potential motive for the alleged triple homicide.
Court records indicate that Mitchell has a history of nonviolent arrests related to drug charges. He was also involuntarily committed to a detox facility in 2017. According to documents obtained by Law&Crime, Mitchell had threatened his mother, her husband, and his sister on June 18, 2017. He had knives laid out on his bed and was carrying one on his person at the time.
The commitment petition was signed by Mitchell’s grandparents, with whom he was residing at the time of the reported threats. The presiding judge ordered Mitchell to be committed to a detox facility for a maximum of 21 days, citing that Mitchell was believed to be addicted to alcohol or drugs and could be homicidal, suicidal, or gravely disabled.
Mitchell is currently being held on a $2 million bond. Local NBC affiliate KARK reported that he is scheduled to appear in court on August 5.