Jacob Lowell Smith
A man jailed as a person of interest in the deaths of two Fulton County women was found unresponsive late Thursday in a Greene County detention cell and later pronounced dead at a hospital, authorities said.
Greene County Sheriff Brad Snyder said Jacob Lowell Smith, 32, was discovered around 11:49 p.m. with a towel around his neck during a routine security check. Smith was alone in a two-person cell.
Detention officers and jail medical staff began CPR immediately, rotating life-saving efforts until Paragould firefighters arrived at 11:58 p.m., followed by EMS at 12:03 a.m. Smith was taken to Arkansas Methodist Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival, Snyder said.
A timeline released by the sheriff’s office said Smith had been spoken to and his wristband scanned at 10:39 p.m. during lights-out procedures. The cell was secured with evidence tape at 12:22 a.m., and Arkansas State Police were contacted minutes later to lead the investigation.
Relatives were notified early Friday morning. An ASP spokesperson told K8 News in Jonesboro that investigators could not yet confirm whether Smith’s body would be sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory for an autopsy.
Smith had been captured Oct. 28 after nearly a week on the run. He was wanted on a warrant for absconding and identified as a person of interest in the deaths of Tonya Stallings, 54, and Ashley Stallings, 33, whose bodies were found in a home near Ash Flat on Oct. 21. State police and Fulton County authorities have said the homicide investigation remains open.
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