The Fulton County Prosecutor has announced no charges will be filed at this time in the double murder of a mother and her step-daughter last fall following the suicide of the primary suspect in the case. Thirty-two-year-old Jacob Lowell Smith of Ash Flat was arrested in Greene County and was being held there when he took his own life Nov. 13, 21 days after the deaths of 54-year-old Tonya Stallings and her 33-year-old step-daughter, Ashley Stallings in a house just west of Ash Flat on Oct. 21.
Sixteenth District Prosecuting Attorney Drew Smith issued a letter Friday to the lead investigator with the Arkansas State Police, which handled the case, saying his office has completed its review of all materials related to the murders of the two women.
Prosecutor Smith says based on the review, the facts established do not support filing criminal charges at this time, as the primary suspect is deceased. The facts indicate the two victims died of gunshot wounds and had been dead several days when their bodies were discovered. Smith says it’s important to note the location of their bodies as it appears they were both sleeping when they were killed, indicating they did not hear anyone break into their home or enter unlawfully. The house was not ransacked, and it was locked up until the victims were discovered.
The prosecutor says Smith was developed as a suspect because he had been staying at the house with the women and a truck, along with several firearms, was missing from the home.
It was discovered Smith had abandoned the truck in another county after learning law enforcement was looking for him and the truck. Some of Smith’s personal items were located in the truck, including a pair of pants with what State Police believed had blood splatter spots. They were submitted to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for testing. Investigators were able to confirm they were the same pants Smith was wearing in surveillance video at a convenience store shortly after they believe the victims were killed.
The report from the State Crime Lab indicated it was blood on Smith’s pants and it was a DNA match for Tony Stallings. The prosecutor says in his opinion, “the blood splatter on the clothing of Smith indicates that Jacob Smith was likely in the room at the time Tonya Stallings was shot.”
The prosecutor says Smith, while on a probation/parole hold, used a towel tied to a bunk frame in the Greene County Detention Center to take his own life.
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