In the autumn of 2016, the life of 29-year-old Stephanie Suzanne Bonine was tragically cut short in a wooded area west of Marshall, Arkansas. On Tuesday, November 22, 2016, the young woman, a beloved mother, daughter, and sister known for her love of the outdoors and a smile that could light up a room, passed away from a fatal gunshot wound. Her unexpected death left her family and the close-knit community in a state of shock and mourning.
The circumstances surrounding Stephanie's death unfolded as a hunting accident gone horribly wrong. Law enforcement responded to a 911 call reporting a person had been shot. Upon their arrival at the scene, they discovered Stephanie on the ground with a devastating injury to her neck. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The investigation into the shooting quickly led to a confession from a local resident.
Ronnie Hogue, a 68-year-old man from Marshall, admitted to shooting Stephanie. In his statement to authorities, he claimed that he had been hunting and tragically mistook her for a deer. Following his confession, Hogue was arrested in November 2016. The legal proceedings concluded in April 2019, when a jury found him guilty of negligent homicide. For his role in Stephanie's death, Hogue was sentenced to serve one year in the Searcy County Detention Center and was also ordered to pay a fine of $2,500. It was also noted that Hogue faced unrelated felony and misdemeanor drug charges from an arrest in February of the same year.
