CRAWFORD COUNTY (KFSM) – The Van Buren man who gunned down his 76-year-old father earlier this year pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder in a deal with prosecutors, according to the Crawford County Prosecutor’s Office.
Eddie Hice, 54, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and will receive a 25-year prison sentence, with an additional 20 years suspended, said Crawford County Prosecutor Marc McCune. Hice will be eligible for parole after six years and four months.
Hice was originally charged with first-degree murder. At the request of the victim’s family, the charge was amended to second-degree murder, McCune said. Hice’s mother, who is also the wife of the victim, told the judge during plea proceedings she approved of the plea agreement, according to the prosecutor.
Hice was arrested March 13 after investigators said he shot and killed his father, Herschel Hice, on Pleasant Valley Road in Crawford County. Eddie Hice could be heard in a 911 call following the shooting telling a dispatcher, “I just killed my daddy.”
Crawford County Ron Brown said the incident came after an argument between father and son. Hice called 911 around 1:40 p.m. and, after admitting to killing his father, carried on a conversation with the dispatcher.
“I want to shoot myself,” he said.
“No, let’s not do that,” the dispatcher responded. “Just stay outside and wait for my deputies, O.K.?”
Brown said the family had a history of arguing, and Eddie Hice has a criminal record of being publicly intoxicated.
“Eddie listen to to me,” said the dispatcher. “Go out the front door with your hands up. Are you going to the front door?”
“I`m going to the front door with my hands up,” said Eddie Hice.
Authorities said Hice fired a shotgun once and hit his father in the upper torso. He was charged with second-degree murder by prosecutors after being booked into the Crawford County Jail.
