BENTON, Ark. – Police are investigating two homicides in two cities where a 3-year-old girl was shot, both homicides are connected to one man.
One of the shootings happened at a Benton apartment complex, neighbors there say they were shocked that something like this would ever happen.
Officials with the Benton Police Department said that officers went to the Country Oaks Apartments around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday after a 3-year-old girl was brought to a Little Rock hospital for a gunshot wound.
Although it’s unclear who shot the child. The Little Rock Police Department says the child is expected to be ok with non-life-threatening injuries.
Kambriyle Powell says her apartment was right next door to where the shooting happened, although she says she didn’t hear the gunshot Tuesday morning. She says she did hear when police rushed through her next-door neighbor’s door.
“I was sleeping and got woken up by the door getting kicked in.” Powell adds, “I knew it was important because I saw yellow tape and I knew then something had happened.”
Powell says the police asked her a number of questions and then asked if they could see the footage on her outside camera. She says she handed the footage over to the police and it showed 39-year-old Demontra Hatfield with the body of 28-year-old Krystle Wilder.
“From what I know it showed him taking her out to the car,” said Powell.
Detectives with the BNPD and the Little Rock Police Department said they determined that Hatfield shot and killed Wilder in their apartment then fled the scene with the child and Wilder’s body before killing a man in Little Rock.
LRPD says while in Little Rock Hatfield is accused of killing 61-year-old Larry Foster, police add there was no relationship between Hatfield and Foster.
As for the 3-year-old child who was shot, Benton Police say Hatfield and Wilder are the child’s parents.
“To hear that another mother just got murdered is very hurtful, it’s scary even if he is in custody,” said Powell.
Powell says it hurts to know she will never see the mother and child together again.
“Every time I see her [Wilder] she is smiling, her daughter is smiling, they’re always smiling and playing outside,” said Powell.
He is currently being held without bond at the Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility. Hatfield is facing charges of capital murder, first-degree domestic battery and first-degree child endangering in connection with the Little Rock incident.
Benton police say he is also facing charges of first-degree murder, felony abuse of a corpse, felony firearms possession, first-degree child endangerment and tampering with evidence.
