A body pulled from a shallow grave in rural Crawford County on Monday was identified Tuesday as that of 19-year-old Jamison Lee Plum of Alma, Sheriff Ron Brown said.
He said the Arkansas medical examiner's office was able to identify Plum through fingerprints. Brown said Monday that investigators had information that the body had been in the ground for a week.
Brown also said the medical examiner found that Plum had suffered a gunshot wound in his chest.
Brown said he had notified Plum's parents of the identification.
The body was discovered Sunday in a shallow grave on property near Rudy at 4628 Arkansas 348. The sheriff's office had received a call that day about a possible homicide on the property. The body, which was discovered by a cadaver dog, was recovered the next day.
Plum's mother, Lorie Ann Plum of Alma, reported to the sheriff's office Monday that she had not heard from her son since 2 p.m. June 24. In a missing person report, she told a deputy she tried to call Jamison Plum several times but his phone was turned off and she was afraid something had happened to him.
In the report, she said her son was friends with Jonathan Bridgewater, 27, and Nicholas Barrows, 19, but that they had been fighting over Jamison Plum's girlfriend.
Bridgewater and Barrows, who are half brothers, were arrested Sunday afternoon. They are being held in the Crawford County jail in lieu of $250,000 bond each on first-degree murder charges.
"Both boys were involved, in that we're pretty confident," Brown said Tuesday. He said they were unsure Tuesday as to what extent each participated in the killing.
No formal charges were filed Tuesday in Crawford County Circuit Court against the two.
Bridgewater and Barrows live in two different houses on the 15- to 20-acre property near Rudy. The shallow grave containing the body was found near the house at the top of the hill, Brown said.
Sheriff's Deputy Matthew McGrew wrote in the missing person report that he went to Jamison Plum's home in Alma on Monday and spoke with Plum's father who said he hadn't seen his son in a week. He told McGrew it was not unusual for his son to leave for a week at a time and return for a day or two, according to the report.
After receiving the report of the possible homicide on Sunday, Brown said, investigators made inquiries and obtained a search warrant for the property at 4628 Arkansas 348.
Investigators searching the homes on the property found several weapons and three pipe bombs in the bedroom of one of the men arrested. Brown said he did not believe the pipe bombs were connected to the homicide.
Metro on 07/02/2014