In the quiet community of Rector, Arkansas, the life of 35-year-old Matthew DeWayne Hale was brought to a tragic and abrupt end in early March of 2022. A white male, Hale was a veteran of the United States Air Force, having served his country for six years before recently joining the Tennessee Air National Guard. His friends and family remember him as a man who cherished spending time with his loved ones and was a passionate fan of the Green Bay Packers.
On the evening of March 8, 2022,
the Clay County Sheriff's Office received a report of an unresponsive man lying in the front yard of a residence on Highway 49, just east of Rector. Upon their arrival, deputies discovered the body of Matthew Hale, who had sustained gunshot wounds. The investigation into his death was swiftly initiated, with the Arkansas State Police taking the lead in the case.
The investigation quickly pointed to a suspect from out of state. Heath A. Hunsaker, a 30-year-old resident of Dexter, Missouri, was identified as the primary person of interest. With the cooperation of law enforcement agencies in Missouri, investigators from the Arkansas State Police were able to locate and interview Hunsaker. During the course of this interview, Hunsaker confessed to the murder of Matthew Hale.
Following his confession, Heath Hunsaker was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. He was subsequently held in the Greene County, Arkansas, jail. In the ensuing legal proceedings, Hunsaker pleaded guilty to the charge of first-degree murder. As a result of his plea, he was sentenced to a total of 43 years in prison, a term that includes a 40-year sentence for the murder and an additional three-year enhancement for the use of a firearm in the commission of the crime.
