Sentence handed down in infant’s death
Joshua James Dulle of Harrison, charged with capital murder in the death of a six-month-old infant in February 2016, has been sentenced to 16 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. A Boone County Circuit Court jury Wednesday found him not guilty of capital murder but found him guilty of the lesser included offense of second degree murder.
At one point, Dulle was in Baxter County Circuit Court for the purpose of hearing motions filed in the case. The hearing was held in Mountain Home due to the unavailability of a courtroom in Boone County.
During the hearing, 14th District Prosecuting Attorney David Ethredge announced to the court the state would be waiving the death penalty in Dulle’s case because there were not a sufficient number of aggravating circumstances to sustain a death penalty finding.
According to court records, the 31-year-old Dulle was accused of causing the death of an infant, Miles Dunaway, by what is commonly known as “shaken baby syndrome.” In addition, the infant had marks on his neck consistent with those caused by a ligature.
Dulle was arrested in June 2016 following a four-month investigation into the infant’s death.
When questioned, Dulle told investigators he had been babysitting the infant and two other small children in an apartment complex in Harrison.
He said the child’s mother brought the infant to Dulle’s apartment for his girlfriend to babysit him. The girlfriend had to leave, and Dulle was left to sit with the children.
Dulle told investigators he gave the boy a bath, wrapped him in a blanket and put the child on the floor for a nap with a bottle propped up on a blanket. He said he left the room for about five minutes, and when he returned, he found the baby unresponsive. Dulle said he could not find his cellphone to call for help and took the child to a neighbor’s apartment and asked them to call 911.
He said while he was looking for his cellphone, he tripped and had fallen with the baby in his arms.
Dulle said he panicked and shook the baby twice in an attempt to revive him. He mimicked his actions for investigators, and they said the shaking was aggressive.
According to the State Medical Examiner’s Office, the baby died of traumatic head injury, and it could be a case of “shaken baby syndrome.”
As with all capital murder cases, a large number of motions were filed in the case. In one motion, the defense attacked the scientific validity of “shaken baby syndrome.” Dulle’s defense lawyers argued abuse could not be assumed by the presence of certain diagnostic factors which underlies the theory of the “shaken baby syndrome,” and further inquiry was needed.
The defense attorneys wrote “shaken baby syndrome” was an unreliable, unproven and highly controversial hypothesis- never validated, and a theory largely been debunked and not generally accepted.
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Protestors gather at VFW after cancellation of Bingo
What was expected to be another weekend Bingo outing at the Ozark VFW Post 3246 in Mountain Home turned into a Saturday protest. Participants were informed last weekend by a sign on the door stating the VFW was closed to Bingo due to continued “disrespect of VFW laws.”
VFW Commander Bill Bradford stated in an off-air interview said the main rule broken was food being brought into the building. Bradford says the local post passed a rule a long time ago stating outside food is not allowed in the canteen or social room. He stated food was constantly brought in for the Bingo events, and as a result, future Bingo events are being cancelled.
Bingo chairman Charles Wensel says nearly 100 potential players took part in the protest after coming to play and being turned away, although by the time KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot News showed up, he says most of the protesters had left. Wensel says he was told to police food being brought in to the VFW hall, but he doesn’t feel that should be his responsibility.
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A spokesperson for the Fraternal Order of Eagles 3183 in Midway says it doesn’t allow outside food, but they do provide snacks and drinks at a fair price.
Wensel says Bingo events at the Mountain Home VFW normally bring in approximately 100 players, and a percentage come from outside the Twin Lakes Area.
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Bradford says for the time being, the Bingo cancellation is permanent. He adds there hasn’t been an opportunity to hold any meetings to discuss the closure.
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New Marion County Jail taking shape
Construction of the new Marion County Jail is more tangible than ever as crews continue working toward the proposed November deadline. The site for the new facility, located off Highway 202 at 221 Randolph Road west of Yellville, dwarfs the current facility. The new enforcement center will replace an almost 40-year-old jail under constant threat of closure for failure to meet minimum state standards. Officials would have been forced to close it and inmates would have been forced to relocate without the construction of a new detention center.
Captain Joe Batterton, who has served the Marion County Sheriff’s Office for over 12 years, says the new state-of-the-art building will hold 60 to 65 beds. Batterton invited KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot news to both the new and old jails for a comparison.
When walking into the current office and jail, it is noticeably clean, yet crowded. Going downstairs, to the Criminal Investigation Division, there is a musty smell in the air often associated with a deteriorating building. The division’s room, is approximately 15 feet by 15 feet and has small desks for Batterton, Investigator Sergeant Silas Gibson and Investigator Dustin Beals. The small room also doubles as an “evidence locker” with items from cases under investigation cluttering the floor.
The situation is the same through all of the working spaces in the crowded, old jail, however spirits are bright. Batterton says the new jail will eliminate the cramped spaces and provide much needed, better security.
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Batterton says not only will the new facility be safer for staff, it will be safer for the public as well. The new dispatch area will allow personnel to focus on the needs of Marion County’s citizens.
Another added safety feature at the new jail will be a Sally Port, a secure, controlled entryway. The old jail has never had that type of security in place.
During the tour of the new facility, Batterton enthusiastically showed where inmates will be housed, the size of new offices, a new kitchen and an evidence room double the size of the old room.
He says there have been talks of what will become of the old facility, but nothing has been decided.
Plans are underway to possibly put a shooting range at the new facility. Currently officers have to travel to the Boone County’ Sheriff’s Office or the Arkansas State Police shooting range
Batterton has twice served as a jail administrator, a sex offender registration officer, a school resource officer for eight years under Sheriffs Carl McBee, Roger Vickers, Joan Vickers and current Sheriff Clinton Evans. He says the new jail is going to make all of the difference in the world when serving Marion County, and he’s thankful the citizens have shown their support.
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First step taken toward new AR Game, Fish office in MH
The first step towards the construction of a new Arkansas Game and Fish Commission regional office in Mountain Home was taken Friday with the approval of $275,000 in funding for a proposed site. The action came during the commission’s meeting in Little Rock.
District Fisheries Supervisor Jeremy Risley says the identified site for the potential new facility adjoins U.S. Highway 62/412 West.
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Risley says planning has been underway for a number of years to reach the point of identifying a potential site.
The current Game and Fish regional office in Mountain Home is located at 201 East Fifth Street where it has been for a number of years.
Risley says 18 employees utilize the current facility. The new facility is planned to accommodate 20 employees and the equipment they need.
He says a timeline for the construction is not finalized, noting the process is a lengthy one.
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101-year-old local fiddler dancing into hall of fame Friday
Yellville resident Violet Hensley has played at the Grand Ole Opry twice, performed at Silver Dollar City for a half century, has appeared on The Beverly Hillbillies and Captain Kangaroo and been interviewed by folks like Charles Kuralt and Regis Philbin. On Friday evening, the 101-year-old fiddle maker and musician was inducted into the National Fiddler Hall of Fame in Tulsa.
Headlining the National Fiddler Hall of Fame Gala and Induction Ceremony was 15-time Grammy-award winner Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder.
The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture says Hensley is known as the “Whittling Fiddler,” the “Stradivarius of the Ozarks” or more simply the “Fiddler Maker.”
The Tulsa World newspaper says with the induction, Hensley was acknowledged as one of the best to ever fiddled around. Her fiddling is her second act, not beginning until she was a 46-year-old mother of 10.
Daughter Sandra Flagg told the Tulsa World none of us would have thought this life was possible for their mother. Daughter Lewonna Nelson described their background as barefoot in the woods.
Flagg says, We were in the backwoods of Arkansas. Podunk. Way back. You would have never believed at any point that we would be traveling all across the U.S. or she would be playing the fiddle in front of thousands and thousands. We went to Washington, D.C., and played there for 50,000 people. And, from Podunk, Arkansas, to that, it doesnt register.
Hensley was born in 1916. On the subject of growing up poor, Hensley said flies had to bring their own food to her house just to have something to eat. She said she didnt live in a home with running water until she was in her 40s.
She says, We had running water, but it was about 100 yards from the house – a cold spring.
Hensleys father carved fiddles that he swapped for items proving useful for a farm family–wagon, shotgun and a milk cow.
Hensley learned from her father how to play and carve a fiddle. She started playing at local square dances when she was 13 and carved her first fiddle when she was 15.
Content to be a farm girl who made her living from the dirt, Hensleys life changed after she took part in a talent contest at Yellvilles annual Turkey Trot Festival in 1962. A friend had to persuade her to get on stage.
Hensley didnt win, but she attracted the attention of folk singer Jimmy Driftwood, and she began playing at his venue in Mountain View. Exposure led to opportunity. She got an invitation from Silver Dollar City, where she made fiddles and became an entertainer.
Hensley made a recent visit to Tulsa to drum up publicity for the 2018 National Fiddler Hall of Fame Gala and Induction Ceremony. She participated in a series of interviews and maybe even showed off a little. She played a fiddle over her head. She danced when Jana Jae, who was inducted in the National Fiddler Hall of Fame in 2015, picked up fiddle No. 4 and started playing. She playfully engaged interviewers with feats of strength, including a killer handshake,
and with stories about her mule, Cricket.
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