The suspect in a Carroll County double murder was found dead of an apparent suicide inside his cell in an Oklahoma jail, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Monday, Nov. 17.
CCSO deputies responding to a welfare check in the 3000 block of U.S. Highway 62 West, just east of Eureka Springs, discovered the bodies of Joy Bennett Willmeth, 77, and Robert Leo Willmeth, 71, on Friday, Nov. 14. Both victims appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds, according to the CCSO release.
Investigators from the sheriff’s office and the Arkansas State Police responded and determined that Travis Lee McConnell, 56, lived at the residence but was not present, the CCSO release said, identifying McConnell as the Willmeths’ son. A truck belonging to Robert Willmeth also was missing from the scene.
A source told the Times-Echo that McConnell was Joy Willmeth’s son and a stepson to Robert Willmeth.
After investigators issued an alert for other agencies to be on the lookout for the missing truck, they were contacted by an officer from Lawrence County, Mo., who informed them that McConnell was a suspect in a first-degree assault in that county in which he allegedly rammed a female acquaintance while operating a white truck — believed to be the same vehicle that was missing from the scene — and opened fire upon her with a .22-caliber pistol, saying during the assault that he “had killed people in Arkansas.”
The Missouri incident occurred at approximately 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, according to the CCSO release.
Investigators determined that McConnell had traveled to Missouri and later to Oklahoma, the CCSO news release said. They were able to determine an approximate location in Oklahoma and reached out to the U.S. Marshal’s service and local law enforcement agencies in the area.
At approximately 1:58 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14, investigators with the 18th District Attorney’s Office in Pittsburg County, Okla., and members of a United States Marshals Service task force had successfully apprehended Mc-Connell in Robert Willmeth’s Toyota Tacoma, the CCSO news release said.
Investigators with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office and the Arkansas State Police immediately traveled to the Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office to conduct an interview and collect evidence. McConnell refused to be interviewed, the CCSO news release said, but officers were
Travis Lee McConnell, the suspect in the slayings of Robert Leo Willmeth and Joy Bennett Willmeth near Eureka Springs, was arrested in Oklahoma on Friday, Nov. 14, and later found dead of an apparent suicide in a cell in the Pittsburg County jail, according to authorities.
able to retrieve items of evidence including clothing and firearms.
Investigators were notified by Oklahoma authorities on Sunday, Nov. 16, that McConnell had taken his own life by hanging himself in his cell, according to the CCSO news release.
“This case remains open and ongoing and will continue to be investigated until complete. At this time, we have no reason to believe there is any threat to the public,” the CCSO news release said.
“This is a textbook example of what can be accomplished when agencies work together,” Carroll County Sheriff Daniel Klatt said in the news release. “Within 12 hours of discovery, the crime scene was processed, the suspect was identified, located, and arrested.
“On behalf of the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, I want to thank the following agencies that provided investigative assistance, resource sharing, or manpower in apprehending Travis McConnell: The Arkansas State Police-Criminal Investigations Company D, Carroll County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, The Missouri Information Analysis Center, the Arkansas State Fusion Center, the Barry County (Mo.) Sheriff’s Office, the McDonald County (Mo.) Sheriff’s Office, the Lawrence County (Mo.)Sheriff’s Office, the Lawrence County (Mo.) Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the Greene County (Mo.) Sheriff’s Office, the United States Marshals Service-Western Missouri Fugitive Task Force, the United States Marshals Service-Eastern Oklahoma Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force, the Oklahoma District 18 District Attorney’s Office and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.”
