In January of 1981, the city of Fort Smith, Arkansas, was shaken by the disappearance and murder of one of its own police detectives, William Ray Tate. The 33-year-old male detective vanished while following up on a missing person report. The case began when a local woman and her co-worker went to the police station to report that the woman's husband, Larry Price, was missing. Detective Tate followed the two women back to the Price residence to investigate the matter further.
After advising dispatch of his arrival, no further contact was made with him.
The following day, a grim discovery was made in a river-bottom field in the nearby community of Kibler. The bodies of Detective Tate, Jawanna Price, and her co-worker, Holly Gentry, were found. All three victims had been shot execution-style in the back of the head. Detective Tate was found with his own handcuffs restraining him. Shortly thereafter, the body of Larry Price was located in a nearby recreation area, also a victim of homicide.
The investigation swiftly led to a suspect named Thomas Simmons, a man who was on parole at the time. Simmons had a violent past, having previously served time for killing a youth and for assaulting an FBI agent. Evidence connected Simmons to the abduction and murders of all four individuals. He was subsequently arrested and charged with four counts of capital murder.
Thomas Simmons was convicted on all counts and sentenced to death for the slayings. However, he would ultimately die in prison before the sentence could be carried out. Detective William Ray Tate, a U.S. Army veteran who had served with the Fort Smith Police Department for four years, was remembered as a dedicated officer who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
