BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — The Benton County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) has launched an investigation into a murder suspect's claims that he found a rat's body part in his food while at the jail.
Kamron Williams, 20, was arrested in Centerton in March in connection to the death of his mother. He has since pleaded not guilty and is being held in the Benton County Jail on a $750,000 bond.
Shannon Jenkins, the public information officer for BCSO, says that on April 19, the sheriff's office was notified that Williams pulled out an item from his hair during a court appearance, and said it was a rat leg he found in one of his meals at the Benton County Jail.
The item was taken and placed into evidence storage, later visually inspected by eight members of BCSO senior staff.
"The consensus of the group regarding the item is that it is most likely not an object such as bone or nail from an animal and more likely plant material," Jenkins said.
Williams was interviewed by investigators and maintained he believed his food was being tampered with. Jenkins noted that he never filed a complaint at the jail and allegedly admitted to hiding items in his hair that he wasn't allowed to have.
The supervisor for the jail's food service department was also interviewed. She told investigators that everyone receives the same meal unless they have dietary restrictions. She didn't recognize the item Williams found in his food but said she didn't think it came from an animal.
"The facility is treated weekly for pests. It is not uncommon for inmates to claim hair or a foreign item has been found in their food. The contractor explained this usually happens during favorite meals so that they could hopefully receive a second portion," Jenkins said.
As the probe continued, BCSO roped in other investigative parties to determine what the item was and how to move forward.
On May 3, the Arkansas State Crime Lab was contacted. Once briefed on the issue, crime lab employees advised they could review the item via photos taken with a scale.
"Photos of the item were emailed to the team, including an anthropologist, and they feel, unofficially, that it is not bone-like in presentation but rather most likely some type of plant/vegetable material that has been cooked," Jenkins said.
The preliminary evaluation of the crime lab matched with that of the sheriff's office, and BCSO opted not to send the item for further testing.
Benton County Prosecutor Josh Robinson confirmed to 5NEWS that the investigation into this incident is thorough, not only due to the severity of the claim, but also because of its possible impact on Williams' case.
Robinson said the effect this may have on the case relies on whether Williams is telling the truth, lying, or if it was just a simple mistake.
"The ways in which it could affect the case are multitudinous and unpredictable. It might affect it in some tangential way that we don’t know. If it’s true, could it have an impact? Maybe. I’m not sure how, but maybe. If it’s not true, that could mean something. It may also mean nothing. It’s hard to say until they finish the investigation," Robinson said.
"On the surface, it doesn’t seem to be impactful to the homicide case. But every now and then, things become relevant that you didn’t think would be," Robinson added.
What happens next depends on the outcome of the investigation, and it's unclear if it's still active. The prosecutor's office said the full scope and results of the investigation may not be released to the public immediately.
"We probably won’t be releasing that until we’ve released other details about the investigation, which typically would happen until after a guilty plea or after trial," Robinson explained.
Robinson said he expects to see the results of the investigation himself "very soon." He says that, to his knowledge, there have not been any other similar claims.
"Not that I’m aware of, it seems like a one-off to me, but we’re looking into it anyway just in case. We see all kinds of weird things in court, and we try to take things seriously, so we’re looking at it," Robinson said. "I don’t have any legitimate concerns that this is happening, either on purpose or accident, but that’s not speaking to the results of the investigation, that’s just based upon my experience and my knowledge of what goes on and the scope of this investigation."
Williams' next court appearance is scheduled for June 17. He does not yet have a trial date scheduled.
5NEWS has reached out to Williams' legal counsel and has not yet heard back.
To read more about Williams' case click here.
March report:
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.