On a tragic day in De Queen, Arkansas, June 14, 2004, the life of 45-year-old Donna Marie Willis Cary was brutally cut short. A resident of Gillham and a truck driver for the Cattlemen's Livestock Market in Glenwood, she was a customer at the Cornerstone Monument Company when a man entered with the intent to rob the business. Inside, both Donna and the company's owner, Mona Shelton, were shot and killed.
Donna, born on October 13, 1958, was not only a dedicated worker but also an active member of the Community of Christ Church in Grannis.
The assailant, quickly identified as Mickey David Thomas, fled the scene after the murders. Witnesses provided a description of a man leaving the monument company and getting into a distinctive Ford Mustang with Oklahoma license plates. This crucial information was broadcast to law enforcement in the area. An Arkansas State Police Trooper spotted the vehicle near the border between Arkansas and Oklahoma, initiating a high-speed chase that crossed into Broken Bow, Oklahoma.
In Broken Bow, Thomas abandoned the Mustang at his mother's house. His attempt to evade capture continued when he committed an armed carjacking of another vehicle. However, his freedom was short-lived as Oklahoma authorities swiftly apprehended him. Thomas had a prior criminal record, including convictions for kidnapping and robbery, and had been released from prison about a year before the double homicide.
Following his capture, Mickey David Thomas waived extradition and was returned to Arkansas to face charges in Sevier County for two counts of capital murder. To ensure a fair trial, the legal proceedings were moved to Pike County. There, a jury found him guilty on both counts, and he received two death sentences for the murders of Donna Cary and Mona Shelton.
