In the early morning hours of November 20, 2019, a tragedy unfolded inside a home on Meadowbrook Street in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Keisha Criglar, a 29-year-old mother of three, was found unresponsive in her residence. The grim discovery was made after her two young children, ages seven and nine, were unable to wake their mother and sought help from a neighbor. That neighbor placed a 911 call at approximately 6:49 AM, bringing police to the scene.
Upon their arrival, officers found Ms.
Criglar deceased from at least one gunshot wound to the chest. The investigation that followed painted a harrowing picture of her final hours. Authorities determined she had been shot sometime between the previous evening and the time she was found. At the scene, investigators recovered ten shell casings, all believed to have been fired from the same weapon. The most heartbreaking detail to emerge was that her own children were present in the home at the time of the killing and were listed as witnesses to the event.
The investigation quickly zeroed in on a suspect known to the victim, dispelling initial concerns of a random act of violence. Police identified Corey McCullon, then 31, of Trumann, as the man responsible for Keisha's death. The motive appeared to stem from a dispute over money. Reports indicate that for several days leading up to the murder, McCullon had been harassing Criglar about a debt he claimed she owed him and had made explicit threats on her life. Witnesses identified McCullon as the individual who entered the Meadowbrook home, fired a gun at the occupants, and even shot in the direction of others in the area.
In March 2022, justice was served for Keisha Criglar and her family. A Craighead County jury found Corey McCullon guilty of first-degree murder in her shooting death. Following the jury's recommendation, a circuit judge sentenced him to 60 years in prison. The prosecution highlighted that McCullon's violent actions stemmed from his harassment and threats over the alleged debt, culminating in the tragic and senseless murder that left three children without their mother.
