BENTONVILLE -- Prosecutors rested their case Thursday after presenting two days of testimony to try and prove Anthony Ballett acted with deliberation and premeditation when he stabbed a man to death.
Ballett, 42, is charged with capital murder. Prosecutors waived the death penalty, so, if convicted of the charge, he'll be sentenced to life imprisonment without the benefit of parole.
He's charged with killing Keundra Allen on Dec. 26, 2019, stabbing him 13 times, according to court documents. Police found Allen in a grassy area near an apartment at 502 S.E. B St., about a block from the Bentonville Public Library.
The defense rested its case Thursday without presenting witnesses.
Ieshia Webster testified Thursday she and Ballett had been married for six years. The two had a traditional ceremony and one in their mosque but never turned in their marriage license to the state. The two considered themselves as husband and wife.
Webster said the two started having marriage difficulties, and Ballett moved out of their Bentonville apartment and into one in Rogers.
She testified she met Allen and the two later started a relationship. Webster said Ballett twice found Allen in her apartment, but there was not a physical altercation between the two men.
Ballett came to the apartment on Dec. 26, 2019, and Allen went outside to confront him, Webster said. The two were fighting, and Webster and a friend pulled Allen back into the apartment. Ballett left the scene, she said.
Webster said they heard a noise in the backyard, and Allen went outside to check. She then heard a scream.
"The scream was like I felt it in my womb," Webster said.
She walked outside and saw Ballett on top of Allen, Webster said. She said she went to Allen and saw the stab wounds.
Webster said she started praying and "asking God not to take him."
She said Ballett walked away from the scene. Webster said she only saw what she first thought was Ballett punching Allen. She didn't see Ballett with a knife.
David Russell, who lives at 524 S.E. C St. in Bentonville, testified he saw two people scuffling on the trail near his home. He first believed they were youngsters but later realized the altercation was between two men.
Russell testified Wednesday he saw one of the men on top of the other one hitting him while he was on the ground.
Russell said he saw a man wearing a red hoodie running toward the Bentonville Public Library.
The other man -- Allen -- was lying face up, Russell said. Allen had a large gash on his forehead, and Russell said he saw two other wounds to Allen's torso.
Russell said he believed Allen was alive.
Capt. Randall Nelson with the Bentonville Fire Department testified Wednesday paramedics were dispatched to a possible stabbing. Nelson said Allen had two to three wounds to the chest, but the noticeable injury was the wound to Allen's forehead.
Nelson said he believed Allen had already died since he wasn't bleeding from the wounds.
Prosecutors showed jurors Ballett's police interview and the video of him being apprehended by authorities.
Benton County Circuit Brad Karren will read the jury instructions to jurors today. The attorneys will give their closing statements, and then the jury will begin deliberation.