On the evening of March 14, 2019, 20-year-old Elizabeth Alexandria Dawson was fatally shot in her Fayetteville, Arkansas apartment. Her girlfriend, 21-year-old Courtney Willie, was also injured in the attack. The assailant, identified as 22-year-old Dekota Harvey, was arrested the following day after a standoff in Springdale, Arkansas.
Harvey was charged with capital murder and attempted capital murder in connection with the shooting.
Courtney Willie later revealed that Harvey was her ex-boyfriend who had become jealous of her relationship with Dawson. She stated that Harvey had returned to the apartment to collect his belongings when the shooting occurred.
In August 2019, while incarcerated, Harvey was charged with capital murder for the death of his cellmate, Luis Cobos-Cenobio. Harvey had requested a transfer to Cobos-Cenobio's cell, where he was found dead from apparent strangulation. Harvey claimed that Cobos-Cenobio had asked him to kill him.
In March 2021, Harvey pleaded guilty to two counts of capital murder and one count of attempted capital murder. He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, thereby avoiding the death penalty.
