BENTONVILLE -- Police arrested a Springdale man Tuesday in connection with killing of his roommate earlier this year.
Zachary Harlan, 34, was arrested on charges of capital murder, aggravated residential burglary and theft of property.
Springdale police identified Harlan in May as a suspect in Steve March's killing. Harlan was arrested May 15 for a parole violation in Seligman, Mo. He denied killing March when questioned by police, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Harlan was returned to a state prison in Arkansas while police continued to investigate March's death.
Officers went to March's Moulton Lane residence around 1:35 p.m. May 14. The home is in a part of Springdale in Benton County. Police found his body lying on his bed with dried blood on his head and face, according to the affidavit. March had an injury to the left side of his face and a cut on his neck, according to the affidavit. Police found a broken knife underneath March's body.
The knife used to kill March was taken from a knife set on the kitchen counter, the affidavit states. Police believe March was asleep when he was killed.
March's white Chevrolet Malibu was missing from his home, according to the affidavit.
One of the neighbors told police Harlan called and threatened March for helping Harlan's former girlfriend and giving police information about his whereabouts. Harlan was running from police because he had beaten his former girlfriend, according to the affidavit.
Police believe Harlan's motives to kill March included the discovery of a romantic relationship between March and Harlan's former girlfriend and Harlan's belief March stole an expensive watch from him, according to the affidavit.
The investigation revealed Harlan downloaded an app called SMS-Tracker and was able to track his former girlfriend's location and who she was communicating with by accessing her text messages using the app, according to court documents. Police believed Harlan was able to read messages between his former girlfriend and March, according to the affidavit.
Benton County Prosecutor Nathan Smith said Harlan's bond hearing will be Thursday morning in Benton County Circuit Judge Robin Green's courtroom. He was in the Benton County Jail on Wednesday.
NW News on 11/15/2018