MADISON COUNTY (KFSM) — A Rogers man has been found not guilty of capital murder for the 2015 shooting of 53-year-old Ronnie Kultgen.
Cody Wise of Rogers was found not guilty by a jury in the Madison County Circuit Court on Thursday (Sep. 27).
Kultgen’s body was found after a months-long search in Madison County in 2015. At the time, an eyewitness to the murder told investigators Wise said he killed Kultgen because the victim stole $2,000 from him, according to the arrest report.
Wise was originally arrested in September 2015 on capital murder charges and was released on $250,000 bond. Authorities said Wise shot Kultgen and buried him in Madison County.
The Benton County Sheriff’s Office arrested Wise in 2018 on drug charges after investigators learned through Facebook messages that he was planning to buy methamphetamine.
A Washington County Circuit Judge ordered the Benton County Sheriff’s Office to turn over phone records from a detective who sent inappropriate texts to a witness in Wise’s murder case.
Defense attorneys for Cody Wise worked to bar testimony from a confidential informant who they say was a key witness in Wise’s murder case, but a judge denied the motion to exclude the testimony.
Check back for updates to Wise's trial as more court documents are released.