Plea resolves trial in poisoning death; grandson spared having to testify

A murder trial in Arkadelphia ended abruptly Thursday when a deal was reached allowing Hilda Daves to plead no contest to manslaughter in the poisoning death of her granddaughter.

The change was made so Daves' grandson Benjamin, 11, who was also poisoned, wouldn't have to testify against her in court, said Prosecuting Attorney Dan Turner.

"We just didn't want to put the child through that," Turner said. "I think he could have testified on the stand, but I didn't think that was the right thing to do. ... The family was 100% behind it. They just wanted the case to be over with."

The trial began Tuesday before Judge Ted Capeheart in Clark County Circuit Court.

Daves, 53, of near Amity, pleaded no contest to manslaughter and introduction of a controlled substance into the body of another person. Capeheart sentenced her to 20 years in prison, 10 years on each charge. The murder charge was dropped.

"I'm satisfied," said Lee Short, one of the attorneys for Daves. "I don't think either side is happy with the outcome, but the fact that she has already served four and a half years makes this easier to stomach because it won't be that much longer before she'll be able to get out."

Short said Daves will be eligible for parole in a year.

According to an affidavit of arrest, on Jan. 17, 2016, the Clark County sheriff's office received a call saying Daves had poisoned her two grandchildren and was suicidal.

Officers arrived to find Daves suffering from a gunshot wound and her granddaughter, 5, dead. Benjamin had already been taken to a Hot Springs hospital.

According to the affidavit, Daves told investigators that she killed her granddaughter, that the boy might die if he did not receive medical attention and that she planned to commit suicide.

Benjamin told investigators that Daves made beverages for the children in a cup. Toxicology screening showed he had promethazine in his urine, and his sister had promethazine and amiodarone in her blood, the affidavit said.

The affidavit said promethazine is an antihistamine used to treat allergy symptoms and nausea, and is a sedative. Amiodarone is an antiarrythmic drug used to keep the heart beating normally.

Short said the defense argued during the trial that Daves didn't poison the children and didn't shoot herself.

Benjamin testified via closed-circuit television, but because of "some technical difficulties," jurors weren't able to hear all of the testimony, Turner said.

Short said about five hours of the trial were spent trying to provide a closed-circuit interview of Benjamin that jurors in the courtroom could hear and understand. Finally, Capeheart decided that Benjamin would have to testify in person in the courtroom or his testimony would be stricken from the record, Short said.

"He was in a terrible position to have to testify about his grandmother, and it looked like he was going to have to do it twice," Turner said.

Because of covid-19 and social distancing, jurors were spread out in the courtroom, with five in the jury box and eight in the gallery, he said. That made it difficult for some jurors to hear even testimony given in the courtroom.

"The whole trial process was quite a challenge," Turner said. "We had trouble seating a jury because of the state of the world we're in."

Turner said Daves was found unfit to proceed to trial at one point and spent a year and a half in the Arkansas State Hospital. But fitness to proceed was restored earlier this year, which meant she could make decisions for herself and was able to assist attorneys in her defense.

Short said Daves wasn't able to do either of those things.

"We certainly did not agree that she was fit to proceed," he said.

Turner said it was a challenging case from the beginning.

"This was a difficult case because it's almost five years old," he said. "I don't think there's any dispute that this woman had a mental disease."

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