Possible Murder Victim Reclusive

SPRINGDALE — Kelly Denise Lockhart apparently hoped her home would be a barrier against evil, with Bible verses written around doors and layers of blankets covering the windows, say the couple who moved into her residence after she went missing in February 2008.

Lockhart, 47 at the time, had been a friend to many and even a role model during her younger years in Springdale, say those who knew her, but she descended into a reclusive existence later in life.

Many had forgotten about her until Oct. 15 when her 1992 GMC Jimmy was pulled from the bottom of Beaver Lake with a yet-unidentified body inside. Three days later, police searched her mobile home at 1012 Spruce St. for evidence of a homicide, according to a Washington County Circuit Court affidavit for a search warrant issued last week.

With Lockhart’s name in the news, details about her life, and about the circumstance surrounding her death, began to emerge.

Tony and Heather Gravitt, who bought Lockhart’s mobile home from her parents a year after the disappearance, said indications were evident of her concerns about evil. The windows had five or six blankets covering them, Heather Gravitt said, and Scripture was written around the doors and windows and in the bathroom.

“The walls of the shower were covered with Scripture. They were mainly about evil,” Tony Gravitt said.

Her books even had Scripture written in the margins, Heather Gravitt said.

The couple said they received a break on the purchase price for cleaning out the residence.

“Mrs. Lockhart was taking care of her husband and didn’t have the time” to clean it, Tony Gravitt said.

Darrel Lockhart is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, according to the affidavit. Hannah Lockhart, Kelly Lockhart’s stepmother, took on the task of selling the mobile home. Lockhart’s mother died about 20 years ago from cancer, said Teresa Powers, a childhood friend.

Few clues foreshadowed Lockhart’s path from a childhood in Springdale to being a possible homicide victim, Powers said. Powers knew Lockhart since both attended Westwood Elementary School in Springdale, she said. Powers was a year older and best friends with the sister of Lockhart’s best friend.

Powers and Lockhart grew up in the area south and west of Westwood. Eventually, the friends walked across Sunset Avenue, a two-lane road at the time, to attend Southwest Junior High School.

“Kelly was what we called a tomboy,” Powers said. “She played every sport.”

Lockhart took Sarah Gordon under her wing at Southwest, teaching her how to play basketball and even how to stand up for herself, Gordon said.

“It was a life lesson,” Gordon said. “She became a role model for me.”

Mary Simmons, two years behind Lockhart in high school, said she remembers playing softball with her on a youth team. The school district did not have school-sponsored teams.

“She was a catcher,” Simmons said. “She was a very nice girl.”

Lockhart’s clothing style fit her athletic interests, Powers said.

“She always wore jeans,” Powers said. “She never wore dresses or makeup.”

The 1978 Springdale High School yearbook lists Lockhart as a member of Future Business Leaders of America. Lockhart did not complete her senior year in 1979, but she returned in 1982, took four classes and graduated, said Pete Joenks, Springdale High School principal.

Friends from Northwest Arkansas said they lost contact with Lockhart when she moved to the Little Rock area sometime after high school. Pulaski County tax payment records show she paid personal property taxes in the county from 1990 to 1995, said Victoria Trager, the county treasurer’s customer-service specialist.

In 1996, Lockhart moved from Little Rock to 1724 Ridgeview Drive in Springdale. Darrel Lockhart owned the house, according to property records.

Powers said Lockhart faced harassment from some in Central Arkansas who objected to her same-sex preference.

“They threw a rock through her window,” Powers said. “That’s why she left. She became a recluse after that.”

In about 1999, Lockhart moved to the residence in Whisler Trailer Park, friends said. Her father and stepmother purchased the mobile home for her, according to Whisler office manager Sherri Hutton. They also paid the rent for the trailer space, Hutton said.

“I didn’t see that much of her,” Hutton said. “She would come to me to help her put minutes on her cell phone. She couldn’t do it herself.”

Lockhart’s only income was a disability check from the U.S. Social Security Administration, according to the affidavit. Acquaintances gave different reasons for the disability.

Powers said she heard Lockhart had fibromyalgia, but Hutton said Lockhart told her she had a bipolar disorder.

“She seemed like she was strung out,” Hutton said.

Fibromyalgia is characterized by pain in muscles, ligaments and tendons, as well as fatigue and multiple tender points, according to the Mayo Clinic website. Bipolar disorder — sometimes called manic-depressive disorder — causes mood swings, the website states.

Ultimately Lockhart began to associate with convicted methamphetamine users, friends said. One person Lockhart became friends with was Keisha Ward, according to Lockhart’s acquaintances. An informant told police Ward and her boyfriend, Jeffrey Clark, were connected to Lockhart’s disappearance, according to the affidavit.

Records show Ward has served time in prison for drug use. A relative of Ward’s was convicted of possession of methamphetamine after being arrested in 2005 at Lockhart’s residence, records show.

Trouble during those years continued for Lockhart. She was arrested in late 2007 on a robbery charge that stemmed from a shoplifting incident at a Springdale Walmart, according to police. She missed her January 2008 court date and was named on the Washington County Sheriff’s Office online list of “Most Wanted” fugitives around the time she disappeared. Her name was taken off the website this month.

In the months before she disappeared, Lockhart contacted several childhood friends, Powers said. She called one and dropped by the home of another’s mother. Several suspected Lockhart was using drugs, Powers said.

“It seemed like she was trying to reach out to us,” Powers said. “Maybe she wanted to get out of whatever she had gotten herself into.”

Gordon said she wasn’t sure what happened to Lockhart during her adult life.

“She had such a good heart. She cared about people,” Gordon said. “I was proud to call her my friend.”

Brett Bennett, Dan Craft and Ron Wood contributed to this report.