In the early hours of a Sunday morning in Jacksonville, Arkansas, a domestic dispute tragically escalated, leaving a family shattered and a community in mourning. Vanessa Hawkins, a 53-year-old woman, was fatally shot in her home on February 26, 2017. The incident unfolded around 1 a.m., prompting a swift response from local law enforcement after they received reports of a shooting.
Upon their arrival at the residence, officers discovered a grim scene.
They found Vanessa Hawkins in a bedroom, having sustained a gunshot wound. The initial moments of the investigation pointed towards a suspect who was intimately familiar with the victim. The couple's son informed the police that his father was the one who had shot his mother.
The alleged perpetrator, 63-year-old Larry James Hawkins, was present at the home and was taken into custody by the Jacksonville Police Department. During questioning, he reportedly told detectives that the shooting was 'an accident.' Despite this claim, Larry Hawkins was arrested and faced multiple charges, including first-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a certain person, and aggravated assault on a family member. He was subsequently booked into the Pulaski County jail.
