Police investigating separate murders

The Forrest City Police Department is investigating two separate murders that occurred within a 24-hour period in Forrest City this week. The first of the two murders happened on Wednesday morning in the Dawson Homes Apartment Complex at apartment 144 at 924 Rice St. After receiving a 911 call regarding a woman in an apartment on Bradley Street covered in blood, police responded and found Jovita Adkins, 42, of Forrest City, rocking back and forth on a bed in a sweater covered with blood. According to FCPD Chief Ronald Broussard, Adkins was transported to the hospital under the possibility that she had been the victim of an assault due to the amount of blood found on her clothing. "We had a call at 8:45 of a lady standing upstairs in an apartment on Bradley Street just drenched in blood," said Broussard. "We went to check on that and it turns out that she was the daughter of the victim. We didn't see scratches or anything on her so we didn't know why there was so much blood. We carried her to the hospital because we didn't know if she was a victim of something or what was going on." Broussard stated that upon arrival at apartment 144 in the Dawson Homes Apartment Complex they found Gloria Nowlin, 76, of Forrest City, stabbed multiple times and deceased. "I was driving down Buford Street and I heard people screaming and I thought they were fighting," said Broussard. "I told dispatch to show me out on Buford and this woman was saying 'she killed my sister, she killed my sister.' So, I asked where her sister lived and they told me. We went to the apartment on Rice Street and sure enough, we had a victim. Gloria Nowlin. She had been stabbed multiple times. At that time, the daughter was placed under arrest and transported to the police department for further questioning." According to Broussard, the crime allegedly would have taken place between 7:50 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. due to the suspect being spotted at 8:45 a.m. on Bradley Street. "We did not know fully what had happened yet," said Broussard. "We took the bloody clothes, the weapon and the body and sent them to the crime lab. We are tracing all cameras down and we believe that it is Ms. Gloria's blood on the clothes. There are three children that were living in that home with their grandmother. They were dropped off at school around 7:50 a.m. We are looking at the crime taking place between 7:50 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. The suspect was spotted in a window at the apartment on Bradley Street, covered in blood, at 8:45 a.m. so we know that the murder took place sometime in that small gap between 7:50 a.m. and 8:30 a.m." Broussard said that he has been in contact with the suspect on numerous occasions and that her mother, Nowlin, had repeatedly asked for the suspect to be sent to the state hospital for help. "We have come in contact with her multiple times," said Broussard. "The last time I had a run in with the suspect was on Robinson Street. Her mom and her aunt were crying out for help. They asked for us to please make her stay at the state hospital. We couldn't, because if she didn't agree to it, we couldn't make her go. The system is failing us. If a person has a mental illness or disease, how can they consent to being put in the hospital? If they say they don't want to go, they don't have to go. I don't blame our local hospital or MidSouth. I blame the system itself." According to Broussard, his heart bleeds for the family affected by the murder. "The system is so messed up that they have to follow the rules that are provided to them, just like I have to follow the rules that are provided to me," said Broussard. "If they can tell you what the day is and who the president is, they can tell you they don't want to go to the hospital. Her mother told me that day on Robinson Street, I had tears in my eyes when I saw her, I will never forget it, she told me that if we didn't do something, she was going to kill her. She told me that two months ago. That day has come and I will never forget it as long as I live. I have to carry that, knowing that there was nothing that I could do. My heart bleeds for them. She tried to get her daughter help." Broussard shared that the three children, who are the suspects children, have been displaced following the tragedy. "Now, she will receive all the help she needs after this has happened," said Broussard. "Why do things need to get to such a dire situation before help can be received? This woman needed help. Her mother should be alive. They will throw help at her now, but she could have gotten the help beforehand and we wouldn't have ended up in this situation. Now there are three grandchildren, who are the suspects children, who were living there with their grandmother and they are displaced." Adkins would later be arrested and formally charged with first degree murder in connection with the crime. Adkins is being held at the St. Francis County Jail, with no bond set at this time. Another murder was reported at around 3 a.m. on Thursday morning at 1039 S. Rosser St., Apt. 4, where a man, later identified as James Hubbard Jr., 50, of Forrest City, was discovered slumped over the steering wheel of a black, 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. According to the report on file at the Forrest City Police Department, officers responded to the scene and noticed upon inspection of the victim that he had a gunshot wound to his right temple. Broussard said that the FCPD has multiple strong leads that they are following up on and that the murder of Hubbard will not go unsolved. "We were notified of the murder of Mr. Hubbard early this morning, " said Broussard. "We do not have any suspects at this time, but we are following up on a few leads. The investigation is ongoing into this crime and we do not believe that these two crimes are connected in anyway. We have some very strong leads and we are following up on those. This case will not go unsolved." According to Broussard, the FCPD needs the help of the citizens of Forrest City who have information regarding this incident. "I don'twant thecitizens to panic,"saidBroussard. "This is unusualandunheardofforus,but wewill get this solved.Weare askingeveryoneforanyevidence thattheymighthave.Inthefirst incident, we had four or five peoplewhohad cameras, but didn't want to give us information or their footage. Everyone wants to blame the FCPD, but they do not want to help us. So ,we are asking each citizen to help carry some of the load. The branches are only strong as the body of the tree." Broussard stated that citizens with information are welcome to call him personally regarding evidence that they may have. "We are asking the branches, which are our citizens, to help feed the body, which is the city, to help keep our city safe, strong and vibrant," said Broussard. "We will solve this case.It may take a little bit, but we will solve this crime. It will not go unsolved. Anyone who has information is welcome to call me personally if they don't trust that their name won't get out," continued Broussard. "We don't want your name ,we want your evidence. The best tools I have in my arsenal are my friends, the citizens of Forrest City. If I can work with my friends, we can solve these cases faster and keep our city safe.

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