CAMDEN — By COURTNEY PATTERSON
Staff writer
The Ouachita County Sheriff's Department is reporting that a body was discovered on Dec. 22 in Bearden, that the person has now been identified and the incident is now being treated as a homicide.
OCSD's Nathan Greeley stated in a press release:
"On Wednesday, December 22nd, Ouachita County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to 201 South Locust Street in Bearden, Arkansas on the report of an unattended death.
"When deputies arrived on the scene, they were met by Melissa (Nelson) who stated that she hadn’t heard from her sister Bernice Nelson, 73, in several days.
"After going to Bernice’s residence, Melissa (Nelson) stated that the back door was partially opened and, upon entering the premises, Bernice Nelson’s body was discovered in her bedroom.
At the time that the body was discovered by authorities, the criminal investigation division was called out to the scene in order to conduct a crime scene investigation. During that investigation, investigators were able to determine that the body had been at the premises for several days due to the condition of the body. Investigators were unable to determine the cause of death due to the condition of the body, therefore the body was sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for a full autopsy.
"On Friday, December 22nd, the Arkansas State Crime Lab contacted the Ouachita County Sheriff’s Department and stated that they were ruling the death as homicide-related due to puncture wounds on the victim’s body."
Officials at the Ouachita County Sheriff’s Department stated that a person of interest has been determined, but OCSD is unable to provide a name until their investigation permits doing so. Officials also stated that a search warrant was conducted today at an undisclosed location in Bearden, and that several items were recovered and sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab.