The Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division is assisting local authorities in the investigation of the death of a 63-year-old Parkin man whose death is being investigated as a homicide.
Parkin police officers and Cross County sheriff’s deputies responded Thursday, Oct. 29, to Front Street after the man collapsed on a sidewalk, Arkansas State Police said. Emergency responders took him to Regional One Hospital in Memphis, where he died later that day.
State police join investigation
The Parkin Police Department requested help from the state police Criminal Investigation Division on Nov. 2. The state division is assisting the local department and the Cross County sheriff’s office as authorities investigate the circumstances surrounding the death.
Arkansas State Police identified the dead man as Willie Carpenter in its release. Under Natural State Report’s crime coverage standards, he is identified here by age and community because he was a private individual. Authorities have classified the death as a homicide during the investigation. That classification does not establish criminal responsibility for any person.
- Oct. 29: Parkin police and Cross County sheriff’s deputies responded after the man collapsed on Front Street.
- Oct. 29: He was taken to Regional One Hospital in Memphis and died later that day.
- Nov. 2: Parkin police requested assistance from the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division.
Investigation remains active
The investigation is being handled with assistance from the state police Criminal Investigation Division, a unit that conducts criminal investigations for the department and works with local law enforcement agencies. In this case, the request came from Parkin police after the death was classified as a homicide.
The death occurred in Parkin, a Cross County community in eastern Arkansas. The response involved municipal police, the county sheriff’s office and the state police division. The investigation had not reached a reported charging or trial stage as of Tuesday, Nov. 3. Any person who may later be investigated or charged would be presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The case follows a sequence that began with the emergency response on Front Street, continued with the man’s transfer to the Memphis hospital and led to the request for state investigative assistance four days later. Arkansas State Police is now working with Parkin and Cross County authorities on the homicide investigation.
