Charles Paul Stovall
CHEROKEE VILLAGE (AP) – An Arkansas man was arrested after confessing to injuring one woman because she was talking and fatally stabbing two other women because they stole from him, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Charles Paul Stovall, 24, of Cherokee Village is being held in the Sharp County jail awaiting formal charges. There weren’t any as of early Wednesday, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
Stovall told local police that he killed Hayleigh Gruger, 23, and Linda Janny, 72, according to the affidavit filed in Sharp County Circuit Court. It also says that Stovall admitted to stabbing Deborah Compton, 41, who he was trying to kill.
Gruger was found dead in her in Cherokee Village by a friend on Oct. 19. She had been stabbed multiple times and had drawings and burn marks on her body, according to the affidavit from Sharp County Chief Deputy Aaron Presser and Special Agent Wendall Jines of the Arkansas State Police.
While police were investigating Gruger’s death, there was another call about a stabbing near Highland, which is about 3 miles from Cherokee Village. Compton had been stabbed multiple times while riding in a vehicle with Stovall, according to the affidavit. She was transported to a hospital.
“When asked why he attacked her, he stated he was tired of her talking,” wrote Presser and Jines.
It was not immediately known if Stovall had an attorney to speak on his behalf.
A petition of revocation of suspended sentence was filed with the affidavit. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tim Meitzen wrote that Stovall received a five-year suspended sentence in 2018 for a drug charge.
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