FAYETTEVILLE — Lawyers for a man on trial for murder say he shot the victim at the behest of a woman he considered to be a sister after the woman said she had been raped.
Steven Maurice Rice, 24, of Pine Bluff and Keishayla Hill, 22, of Stuttgart are both charged with being accomplices to capital murder and tampering with physical evidence in the death of Mario Lamont Miller, 47, of Fayetteville on Aug. 11, 2020. Rice’s trial began Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court. Hill is expected to be tried at a later date.
Lee Short, one of Rice’s attorneys, told jurors in an opening statement Tuesday that capital murder is not the right charge in the case.
“This trial will be short. The facts are going to be mostly undisputed. Mr. Miller raped Ms. Hill. Ms. Hill planned to have him killed. She got her brother to do it,” Short said. “Now the question is going to be, what level of homicide do we call that?”
Fayetteville police were called to an area on East Robinswood Lane around 8:45 p.m. Aug. 12, 2020, to investigate a reported death. A caller said he had found a dead man near a wooded area. When they arrived, police found Miller’s body lying face down near the trees with a gunshot wound to the head.
Police said Miller was robbed and killed by Rice and Hill, who also stole Miller’s 2011 Dodge Challenger.
Fayetteville police detectives, with assistance from U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Forces, tracked down and arrested Hill and Rice in Pine Bluff after Miller was killed.
Both capital murder and accomplice to capital murder have the same penalties, but prosecutors don’t necessarily have to prove who pulled the trigger to get a conviction with the latter.
Prosecutors have waived the death penalty against Rice. If convicted of accomplice to capital murder, Rice would be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Short told jurors Tuesday that Hill met Miller while prostituting on the side and told Rice that Miller had forced himself on her.
“He believed his sister had been raped, and when Ms. Hill determined something had to be done about it, Steven was going to be the person that was going to do something about it,” Short said.
Hill came up with a plan to kill Miller, Short said. She gave Rice a pistol she had bought and arranged for Miller to be picked up. Hill told Rice repeatedly in text messages to shoot Miller, Short said.
“That’s what Steven did,” Short said. “He shot him. He killed him.”
Short told jurors it is his understanding Hill will have her charge reduced to first-degree murder with a 40-year prison sentence in exchange for testifying against Rice for the prosecution.
Short said Rice has been honest with police about his role since being arrested while Hill has repeatedly lied.
“She is willing to say anything but the truth,” Short said.
Four text messages between Hill and Rice were introduced by prosecutors Tuesday. They showed Hill first asking Rice if he was scared then encouraging Rice to “pop his a**” and “just shoot him.”
Rice was identified as a suspect after police talked with residents of the area where the body was found.
Witnesses reported seeing an unfamiliar car in the neighborhood. Police then used geolocation information to see what cellular devices had been in the area in the time frame described by witnesses. Rice’s cellphone was identified as being in the area.
Miller’s Dodge Challenger was unusual in appearance with some custom, after-market work having been done on the car, according to Prosecuting Attorney Matt Durrett. Police obtained security camera video showing Rice in the car described by witnesses at a convenience store after the murder.
Police used further geolocation data to map Rice’s movements before, during and after Miller was killed and his body was dropped off. Cellphone data showed Rice going to and from Miller’s residence on the day he was killed. Cellphone data also placed Rice in the area where police believe Miller was shot and in the immediate vicinity of where Miller’s body was found, according to Durrett.
The gun used to kill Miller was later located at a pawn shop in Pine Bluff, Durrett said. The gun had Miller’s blood on it.
The trial is set to resume at 9 a.m. Tuesday.