By TAMARA JOHNSON
Managing Editor
The murder of a Kansas City woman is eerily similar to a rape for which Wayne Dumond, 51, was convicted over a decade ago in Forrest City.
Dumond, who is on parole in Missouri, is being held on a parole violation and suspicion of murder involving the death of Carol Shields, 39, Parkville, Mo., who was found in a friend's Clay County apartment last fall.
According to a search warrant and affidavit, which was unsealed this week by a Missouri judge, Shields had been tied up, but the material used to bind her was gone when police arrived. Her clothes were missing except for a brassiere that had been cut from the body.
In 1984, Dumond was convicted in the rape of 17-year-old Ashley Stevens. Stevens' brassiere was cut from her body with a knife used by Dumond.
Information released this morning reveals Dumond is also being looked at for possible involvement in a second homicide in the Kansas City area. According to Dumond's attorney, Bruce Houdek, there is a reference in a Platte County sealed warrant to a second murder authorities believe Dumond may have been involved in.
''And I've heard that, but that's all I know,'' Houdek said. ''I've heard there were apparently two homicides the police say are similar but that's all I know about it. He has not been charged in either.''
A source close to the investigation confirmed that police are considering the possibility that Dumond may be linked to a second homicide.
Dumond was initially sentenced to life-plus-20 years in prison for the attack on Stevens, but that sentence was commuted in 1992 by Gov. Jim Guy Tucker to 39 years and six months. In 1996 Gov. Mike Huckabee questioned Dumond's guilt and began the process to let him go free.
The state parole board decided in 1997 it would free Dumond if another state would take him. Texas and Florida refused his requests to relocate there.
In 1999, the Post Prison Transfer Board voted to allow Dumond to move in with his mother in DeWitt despite letters of opposition from DeWitt officials and residents.
In 1999, Missouri authorities refused Dumond's request to take over his parole supervision from Arkansas, but approved it the next year. He moved to Smithville, Mo., on Aug 1, 2000.
Shields was killed on Sept. 21, less than two months after Dumond moved to the Kansas City suburb, about 10 miles north of the crime scene.
An autopsy determined that Shields died of asphyxiation. Police would not say whether she had been suffocated or was strangled. The search warrant said a torn white plastic bag was found near her body.
Investigators questioned Dumond on Friday after linking him to the Shield's murder through DNA evidence taken from under the victim's fingernails.
Crime labs in Kansas City and Arkansas linked DuMond to the victim and said the probability that two or more individuals would have the same genetic profile as DuMond would be less than 0.09 percent.
Kansas City officials said earlier this week charges against Dumond could be filed Friday.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
As the end of the month nears, and a zero balance looms for the St. Francis County General Fund, county officials have yet to determine the most accurate amount needed to pay outstanding bills and balance the account by July 1.
At a Tuesday called meeting of the budget committee, members voted to transfer funds from a county certificate of deposit into the general fund so that county officials could begin the new three-month budget plan with as close to a zero balance, on paper, as they could.
According to Quorum Court Justice Regan Hill, county officials are waiting until Friday to best determine the funds that need to be transferred from the county's certificate of deposit to the general fund.
"We don't have the complete figures yet because at Tuesday night's meeting of the budget committee, we decided that it would be best to wait and get as many of the bills in that we could before we decided on the figure to transfer. That way we can get all of the county offices as close to a zero balance and on a level playing field for the budget changes that they're facing," said Hill.
The county's general fund has been hovering at lower than normal figures for much of the 2001 year.
According to St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco, those lower figures can be attributed to several factors, including, lower tax revenue, money that was repaid to the city of Forrest City and the Forrest City School District, and the impact of the newly enacted $300 homeowners tax credit.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The shigellosis outbreak from earlier this year has finally been contained, according to Bonnie Dodson with the St. Francis County Health Department.
Dodson said this week that all 123 confirmed cases of shigellosis, which first showed up in a local day care in February, have been cured.
"With our cases, we sent people to a physician and had an antibiotic treatment prescribed. We also suggested that children in day care be kept at home for five days. For those people who worked in food handling, we asked their employers to make sure that they were bacteria sterile (for the shigella bacteria) before they were allowed to handle food," said Dodson.
According to information from the Department of Health, the shigellosis infection affects the intestinal tract and is recognized more often in young children. Individuals infected with the shigella bacteria experience mild or severe diarrhea. Fever and traces of blood or mucous in the stool may be associated with the illness and this may be accompanied by abdominal cramps and vomiting. Some infected people may show no symptoms at all. The source of infection is the feces of infected humans. The germ is spread by eating or drinking contaminated food or water, or by direct contact with an infected person. Symptoms usually appear within two to four days after exposure, or may appear one to seven days after exposure.
Prevention of the disease, according to Dodson, can be helped through careful and complete hand washing.
"We want to emphasize that good thorough hand washing after going to the bathroom can help with the prevention and spread of a disease such as this. That means using soap and water and it also means supervising children when they wash their hands. For employees in the food handling business, it is always important for them to wash their hands thoroughly before handling food. That is something that we can't stress enough," said Dodson.
An afternoon drilling accident in Palestine has residents under a boil order for all drinking water.
According to Derrick Boileau, Palestine City Water Manager, the main water line in Palestine was damaged yesterday afternoon when a company boring phone cable in Palestine inadvertently drilled into the water line.
"We were notified of the accident about 5:30 p.m., and by 7:30 p.m. we were back up. We were told that they were boring the phone cable and someone just hit that main line. We haven't been given a date as to when the boil order will be lifted, but we want everyone to know about the order," said Boileau.
According to Boileau, during the boil order, citizens should boil water for at least one minute or bring water to a slow boil. He also added that the order is only for drinking water and that the water is acceptable for bathing.