In the late morning of May 18, 2021, police in Hot Springs, Arkansas, responded to a call concerning a possibly deceased person at a residence on Pleasant Valley Street. Inside the home, they discovered the body of 70-year-old Larry Wayne Natt. Originally from Stamps, Arkansas, Mr. Natt had moved to Hot Springs as an infant and built a life there. He was a well-respected member of the community, known for his intelligence and his passion for education.
A graduate of Langston High School and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, where he earned a degree in Mathematics, he had worked as a math teacher and a foreman for GMC. He was a father and grandfather, and his friends and family remembered him as a man with a gift for making others feel capable of conquering the world.
The initial investigation into his death was handled by the Hot Springs Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division. The circumstances surrounding his passing led investigators to treat it as a homicide. Nearly a month later, on June 22, 2021, a significant breakthrough was made in the case. With the assistance of the Arkansas Community Corrections SRT Team, the Arkansas State Police, and the Russellville Police Department, authorities arrested 25-year-old James Anthony Barron. Barron was charged with first-degree murder and taken to the Garland County Detention Center, where he was held without bond.
The investigation did not conclude with Barron's arrest. Law enforcement continued to pursue leads, and more than two years later, a second suspect was apprehended. On September 29, 2023, the Hot Springs Police Department arrested 58-year-old Lee Oliver Counts Sr., also a resident of Hot Springs. He too was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Larry Wayne Natt and was also booked into the Garland County Detention Center without bond. The arrests brought a measure of progress in a case that had impacted the Hot Springs community.
