SPRINGDALE -- A Springdale man with a history of mental illness and substance abuse fatally stabbed his mother and stepfather early Friday, police said.
He's also accused of attacking someone who lived in his building.
Police arrested Dustin Glenn Price, 28, in connection with two counts of capital murder, first-degree battery, residential burglary and terroristic threatening of a police officer, all felonies. He also faces misdemeanor charges of third-degree assault. Price is being held at the Washington County Detention Center with no bond set.
Price broke into his mother's home at 2306 Sandy St., about 2:30 a.m., according to a news release from Springdale police. Police went to the home after the mother, Theresa Hendershot, called 911 and said her son had stabbed her husband, Jim. They found Theresa and Jim Hendershot on the floor, unresponsive with stab wounds and blunt force trauma injuries.
Officers found a small knife and aluminum bat, both covered in what appeared to be blood, the report said.
Price was found later Friday morning riding a moped in Fayetteville and arrested without incident, according to a preliminary arrest report. Additional weapons were found on Price and the moped, the report said.
Police said Hendershot, 47, died at her home from what appeared to be knife wounds. James Hendershot, 47, was taken to Northwest Medical Center-Springdale, where he was pronounced dead.
Price went to his home at 902 Caudle Ave., where he stabbed 52-year-old Daniel Teyhen, after he left his mother's house, the release said. Teyhen was listed Friday in good condition at the medical center, according hospital spokeswoman Pat Driscoll.
Price was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder in 2012 following a court-ordered examination. Schizoaffective disorder shows itself as a sort of blend of typical schizophrenia symptoms, such as seeing or hearing things that aren't real, with a mood disorder like depression or manic behavior, according to the Mayo Clinic and the National Alliance on Mental Health.
The disorder can be effectively managed with therapy and medication, but as with other mental illnesses it can lead to substance abuse or other problems if untreated, according to the health care groups. Its causes aren't yet known, though genetics, stress and other factors could play a role, and LSD use has been linked to the disorder.
According to court documents, Price also has a history of substance abuse, including marijuana and opioids.
Price also has a history of criminal activity -- including assault, battery and threatening -- dating back to 2007, court documents show. He also was committed in the Arkansas State Hospital more than once, and court records show he was released in June.
Price was acquitted at least twice of crimes because of a mental disease or defect.
Washington County Circuit Judge William Storey dismissed fleeing and failure to appear charges on May 11, 2012, based on a mental examination by Dr. Robin Ross. Storey acquitted Price by reason on mental disease or defect.
A month earlier, his mother bonded Price out of jail after he was arrested on a charge of failure to appear in the case. A condition of the bond was he live with his mother.
Price assaulted a deputy at the Benton County Jail in 2014, but later was acquitted after a psychologist found he had a mental disease and didn't have the capacity "to appreciate the criminality of his conduct," court documents show.
Price wrote a letter in 2014, asking Benton County Judge Brad Karren to be released because he had been without his medication while in jail. Price wrote without his medications, he was susceptible to another "psychotic episode." Karren released him a couple of weeks later.
Court documents show Price sat in the Benton County Jail for at least three months in 2012 waiting for a space for him to open up in the state hospital.
Nancy Kahanak, coordinator for the Judicial Equality for Mental Illness, said resources for police are scarce when it comes to accommodating the mentally ill. The group is working to change the state's system of treating the mentally ill.
"If we had more services for people with mental illnesses, we would hopefully catch some of these issues," Kahanak said.
Price lunged at detectives interviewing him Friday at the Springdale Police Department and said he would kill them, the police report said.
NW News on 08/27/2016