Trial postponed in murder case

Attorneys awaiting reports

FAYETTEVILLE — The case of a man charged with capital murder in the shooting death of his father last year has been reset to Feb. 1 in Washington County Circuit Court.

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Samuel Robert Hill, 27, is accused of killing Allen Hill, 61, at the elder Hill’s house on Whitehouse Road near Elkins on Aug. 20, 2014.

Hill’s trial was set to begin last week, but it was delayed because not all the needed reports had been received, according to Prosecuting Attorney Matt Durrett.

Hill has pleaded innocent to capital murder and aggravated assault on a family or household member. His attorney announced in late February his intent to pursue a defense of mental disease or defect. A mental exam at the Arkansas State Hospital found Hill fit to stand trial.

According to the mental exam, Hill went to his parents’ home and shot Allen Hill, left and returned a short time later and fired more shots into the house.

Allen Hill was shot multiple times in his chest, said Kelly Cantrell, spokesman for the Washington County sheriff’s office. Hill died at Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville.

Roberta Hill told police her son, Samuel Hill, shot her husband during an argument at their home.

Samuel Hill fled the scene, and Fayetteville police arrested him about an hour later at his home.

He was treated at a hospital for a gunshot wound in his hip. He suffered the wound in the fight with his father, according to an arrest report.

Hill is being held without bail at the Washington County jail, which is typical in capital murder cases.

If convicted of capital murder, Hill faces either life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. Prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death penalty.

Information for this article was contributed by Dan Holtmeyer of the NWA Democrat-Gazette.

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