According to Major Kevin Nickson with the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office, an autopsy confirmed Tuesday that human remains found in Sebastian County are those of missing Van Buren teen, Angela Allen.
Major Nickson also said the cause of death was strangulation.
Allen’s body was found inside a blue plastic barrel buried on the property of convicted rapist Lloyd Jones, 36, of Lavaca, on Feb. 17, a week after Allen was reported missing.
The Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office is seeking a warrant for a first degree murder charge in connection with Allen’s death for Jones. He is currently being held on an aggravated assault charge at the Sebastian County Jail.
The 16-year-old girl was last seen on Feb. 10. According to police, she told her grandmother she was going for a walk around 7:30 p.m. Allen never returned and was reported missing the next day.
According to investigators, Jones began communicating with Allen online and arranged a meeting with her.
An affidavit for a search warrant states Jones told investigators he picked Allen up that night at the Summit Hospital parking lot in Van Buren. He planned to take her to his home in Lavaca, but said he decided he shouldn’t because his girlfriend would be upset, according to the affidavit.
Jones told investigators he decided to take Allen down by the Arkansas River in an area off Highway 253 in Lavaca, commonly known as the “Mud Town Bottoms.”
The affidavit states Jones became upset with Allen after she told him she was only 16.
Jones said he forcibly struck her in the chest with both hands, knocking Allen into and under the water, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit also states that Amanda Cox, Jones’ girlfriend at the time of his arrest, said that his clothes were covered in mud when he came home.
A memorial account has also been set up at Citizen’s Bank. You can donate to the Allen family under the account Angela Dawn Allen. Family members say money left over from expenses will be donated to the Morgan Nick Foundation who they say has helped them since the day Allen went missing.
