A woman already suspected of murdering her grandmother is in the hot seat again after being accused of intentionally running down a bicyclist with her car. The 26-year-old woman accused of these violent crimes appeared in an Arkansas court on June 20 to face the charges, including felony aggravated assault and battery. These charges compound the existing charges, including capital murder and tampering.
An 81-year-old woman, the suspect’s grandmother, was reportedly found dead in her home on May 16. Court documents say police have reason to believe the accused woman may have struck her with a hammer, leading to her death. Details of the investigation into these claims were not included in this report, but the woman has pleaded innocent to the murder charge.
Since then, a second incident in May has placed her under suspicion again, this time for striking a cyclist with her car. As already stated, police believe this was premeditated, and further details will likely be forthcoming. There is no word as to the condition of the cyclist that was allegedly struck by her. She is now in custody awaiting her July 16 trial date. Bail for the murder charges was set at $750,000 while the second bail for the assault charges was set at a further $100,000.
Violent crimes of this nature are of course distressing to Arkansas residents, but the backbone of the American legal system is the right to a fair trial. As such, these two charges will be addressed separately from one another by Arkansas prosecutors, with one verdict being unable to inform the other. Her defense team will review the evidence from each case in order to determine the best way forward in responding to the formal accusations in criminal court.