PINE BLUFF -- Jefferson County authorities are investigating the death of a couple whose bodies were found Friday morning at a home in an upscale neighborhood just outside Pine Bluff.
Few details were released about how 62-year-old Anthony Branch and 58-year-old Deborah Moncrief died, though officials with the Jefferson County sheriff's office said the deaths are being investigated as a "suspected double homicide."
No suspects have been identified, but sheriff's office spokesman Lt. Lafayette Woods Jr. said a person of interest has been identified.
According to a sheriff's office news release, deputies were dispatched to a home in the 6300 block of Cowboy Drive after someone called 911 to report finding Branch and Moncrief dead inside. Their bodies have been sent to the state Crime Laboratory to determine the causes of death, Jefferson County Coroner Chad Kelley said.
Branch's Facebook page, which listed him as being "in a relationship" with Moncrief, showed several pictures of the couple posing in western attire with two horses and a white Labrador retriever. The dog could be seen tied to the back of a pickup Friday afternoon outside the home.
Several neighbors looked on but declined to speak about the events or confirm if they knew the victims.
"We just want to be left alone and to let the families have some time to grieve," said one woman who would not give her name. "We just want everyone to get out of here and leave us alone."
Authorities said they do not believe Arkansas Department of Correction inmate Timothy Buffington, who escaped last month and is still on the loose, is involved in the killings. Buffington, 47, was working on a maintenance assignment at a house on prison property at the time of his escape. He was a trusty inmate serving a 240-month sentence for first-degree murder out of Logan County.
At a convenience store about 2 miles from the crime scene Friday afternoon, Randy Sims said the deaths have shaken the tight-knit area just south of Pine Bluff.
"You never expect to hear about something like this in such a small, safe area," Sims said. "This is the kind of place where you come for peace and quiet.
"We aren't like the city out here. We are just a bunch of good, country folks who enjoy life. I just can't imagine what could have happened over there. It's pretty unnerving."
Cheryl Avery, a spokesman for the Pine Bluff Arsenal, said Moncrief had recently retired from the military facility after serving as its director of logistics. Avery, who said she knew Moncrief well, described her as a "very caring person," adding that news of her death "created shock for many people" at the arsenal.
"We are all very sad," Avery said. "She was a great person. No one here could believe the news when we heard it."
State Desk on 07/12/2014