MADISON COUNTY, Arkansas — A prosecutor who was originally seeking the death penalty for Jeffrey Ryan Kelly, a man accused of killing two people in Madison County in 2021, has dropped the murder charges.
An affidavit said that on Dec. 12, 2021, the Madison County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) requested Arkansas State Police's (ASP) help to investigate a double homicide.
MCSO received a 911 call from someone advising he had found two dead people in Huntsville. The bodies were identified as a 46-year-old man and a 49-year-old woman, the affidavit said, adding that both bodies had gunshot wounds and "exhibited severe decomposition."
The affidavit said interviews with family members and jail calls suggested Jeffery Ryan Kelly was a suspect in the case.
On Jan. 24, 2022, a witness told ASP that Kelly left a residence at around midnight on Nov. 30, 2021, and that when he returned, he said he had harmed people and that "they had a mess to clean up," the affidavit said.
The witness told law enforcement that he had shot both victims. The female victim survived the first two shots, and Kelly allegedly offered help in exchange for information about a certain person, the affidavit explained.
"The witness said the suspect shot the female victim in the head to put her out of her misery," the affidavit said.
Court records said that Kelly was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder, later pleading not guilty.
On Jan. 9, 2024, Prosecutor Matt Durrett filed a notice of intent to pursue the death penalty, with a filing stating that "the defendant knowingly caused the death of more than one person in the same criminal episode."
Kelly was set for a hearing on Oct. 8. However, just a day before his scheduled appearance, Durrett filed a motion to drop the charges.
According to the motion, the witness involved in the case who originally told police about the killings backed out, and that the state was unable to meet the needed burden of proof because of that.
"The witness has recently indicated to the state that, if called to testify, she would state that another individual, not the defendant, confessed to killing the victims. In a subsequent meeting with prosecutors, she stated that she would refuse to testify if called. She further stated that even if ordered to testify by the court, she would refuse to do so," the filing said.
The motion was ordered by a judge on Oct. 8, according to court filings, and the case has since been closed.
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