LITTLE ROCK — A Dallas County man faces a second-degree murder charge after authorities found the body of his stepsister in a shallow grave Jan. 8.
Capt. Chuck Barker with the Dallas County sheriff’s office said that John Aldrich, 25, of Fordyce confessed to killing and burying Nancy Harvill, 34, beneath the dirt floor of a shed in October 2011.
The shed sits behind a home at 702 N. Spring St. in Fordyce, Barker said, adding that family members of the victim and the suspect have lived at the address in the past, and at least one still resides there.
Barker said Aldrich and Harvill had been in an argument that “became really heated, and things just went too far.”
The preliminary cause of death is strangulation, Barker said. The remains have been sent to the state Crime Laboratory for identification and to confirm the cause of death.
Aldrich’s confession followed a tip given to police by Aldrich’s brother, Barker said.
“Apparently there was some kind of recent argument between the two men, and Aldrich’s brother provided information that led us to the body.”
Barker said Harvill had not been reported missing by her family.
The preliminary investigation shows that most of Harvill’s family “thought she had run off,” Barker said. Care of Harvill’s two children was signed over to her stepmother six months before her death, he said.
“Right now we are still looking at all of the details in this case to determine why the family never reported her missing,” Barker said. “But at this time we don’t suspect anyone else had a direct connection to [Harvill’s death].”
Arkansas, Pages 12 on 01/16/2013