Warning: The following content could be disturbing.
LEFLORE COUNTY (KFSM) — Johnathen Thacker took the stand Wednesday afternoon (April 13) during the first-degree murder trial of his brother, Elvis Thacker.
As Johnathen Thacker testified, he kept his head down and only looked at his brother Elvis a few times.
His feet and hands were shackled and he was wearing jail-issued orange clothing.
The prosecution called him to the stand and started the first round of questioning. Thacker was asked to explain what happened the night Ault was murdered.
Thacker told the court he did not know Ault was picking him and Elvis up at the apartments they were staying at in Fort Smith until she arrived. He said Elvis told him to get in the car. He said he sat in the back seat of Ault’s orange cavalier while Elvis sat in the passenger seat.
Johnathen said they drove to Texas Road and Elvis asked her to stop the car.
“Elvis told her to pull over and she pulled over. He told her he was going to rob her,” Johnathen Thacker said.
Johnathen said Elvis claimed Ault had won $1,600 at the casino.
“I asked Elvis what he was doing,” Johnathen said.
Johnathen Thacker said Elvis pulled out a straight razor and told Ault to perform oral sex on him. Johnathen said he tried to stop Elvis but he swung the knife at him and threatened to kill him. Johnathen told the court Elvis cut Ault’s clothes off with a knife and told her to drive further down the dirt road.
“That’s when he said he was going to take her in the woods, tie her up and we was going to leave,” Thacker said.
Johnathen Thacker said Elvis Thacker led Ault to a nearby pond.
“Elvis told her to get on her knees,”Thacker said. “He told me to get on my knees.”
Johnathen Thacker then proceeded to tell the jury Ault was forced to perform oral sex on him.
He said Elvis told Ault to drink pond water and then told him to help drown her.
“I told him no. I wasn’t going to do it,”Thacker said.
He said he ran at Elvis and pushed him in the water but Elvis swung the knife at him again. Thacker said he went back to Ault’s car.
Thacker said Elvis returned and got into Ault’s car with him about 10 minutes later.
“He said he couldn’t drown her so he cut her throat,” Johnathen Thacker said.
Johnathen Thacker said the two brothers drove to a home in Cedarville and changed clothes. He said he texted Ault’s friends and told them she was going home to go to bed.
Thacker became emotional when the prosecutor asked him if tp describe a camping trip he had taken with his brother Elvis years back.
Johnathen said Elvis asked him if he wanted to get high. Johnathen said the two brothers smoked marijuana. He told the jury Elvis pulled a knife on him and demanded he perform oral sex on him. Johnathen Thacker told the court he did.
The prosecution ended the questioning with three questions.
“You know you are never getting out of prison?”
“Yes ma’am ,”Thacker said.
“You know you will die in prison?”
“Yes ma’am,” he said.
“What happens if we catch you in a lie?”
“I’ll be guilty of perjury and the deal goes away,” Thacker said.
Thacker pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in exchange for his testimony in his brothers trial.
The defense started questioning Johnathen Thacker. They played a video for the jury of Johnathen, who was outraged when police interviewed him the night he was arrested.
The defense tried to poke holes in Johnathen Thacker’s testimony.