9 - Public Records (State or National)

Hannah Diffee

Professor Reppert

Reporting and Writing for the Mass Media

Fall 2024

9 - Public Records (State or National)

Arkansas Supreme Court Decision: McPherson v. State

"Texarkana Baby Killer"

Texarkana, Arkansas, resident Jeffrey McPherson was charged with first-degree murder in the death of an infant in May 2022. He was arrested after police were called to Wadley Regional Medical Center to investigate the death of two-and-a-half-month-old Carter Hamilton. McPherson was reportedly caring for the boy while his mother, McPherson's fiance, was in the Bowie County jail. He told police that the infant experienced some bowel problems, so the man performed "bicycle" movements with his legs earlier in the day to help him. 

"McPherson allegedly told the investigators that while moving the baby’s legs, he heard a “pop” sound come from the child’s chest and that he left the infant alone for about 30 minutes before returning and finding that Carter was discolored and unresponsive" (TXK Today).

Autopsy reports indicated that Carter's death was a homicide. The infant died of blunt force trauma to the chest and had several rib fractures and a femur fracture.

While searching McPherson's home on Senator St. in Texarkana, police discovered cameras inside the home that seemed to be actively recording. Upon searching the cameras, they discovered that footage from the time period of the infant's death was missing. Along with first-degree murder charges, McPherson was charged with tampering with physical evidence.

Image Source: THV11

McPherson v. State

McPherson challenged the sufficiency of the court's evidence, "arguing that the State failed to prove he knowingly caused the child’s death and suggested that another individual, Jason Uncel, could be responsible" (Justia Law). He also argued that his actions were reckless rather than intentional and claimed that the tampering charge should be reduced since investigators could not prove the existence or relevance of the deleted footage.

On October 31, the court rejected McPherson's arguments, holding that the jury had substantial evidence for conviction and declaring that his intent could be "inferred from the circumstances and his actions." Since McPherson admitted to deleting the video recordings, his argument about the tampering charge was found insufficient.