In the quiet community of Wesley, Arkansas, a shocking act of violence shattered the peace on February 23, 2021, ending the life of 59-year-old James Stanley McGhee, a White/Caucasian male. McGhee, along with 51-year-old Tami Lynn Chenoweth and 26-year-old Cheyene Chenoweth, was found deceased inside a home on Madison County Road 6041. The three were part of a large, blended family and were known to be devout churchgoers with plans to spread their faith within the community.
The grim
discovery of the triple homicide launched an investigation by the Arkansas State Police. The situation was further complicated by the fact that a 10-month-old infant was missing from the residence. Investigators were led to two vehicles believed to be connected to the crime. One was found abandoned on Interstate 40 near Mayflower. The search for the second vehicle led authorities to the suspect.
Law enforcement officers located and arrested 22-year-old Hunter Chennowith on Interstate 30 near Benton. The missing infant was found safe in the vehicle with Chennowith, who was armed with a rifle at the time of his arrest. It was revealed that the victims and the suspect were related in some way. Chennowith was subsequently held in the Washington County Detention Center on a $1 million bond.
The motive for the killings remained under investigation, though it came to light that this was not the first violent encounter between the suspect and one of the victims. In the year prior to the murders, Hunter Chenoweth had been arrested for allegedly stabbing James Stanley McGhee. McGhee's daughter, Nikki Jackson, expressed the family's shock and heartbreak, stating that only Hunter knows the true reason behind the tragic events.
