Authorities say an Arkansas man has died at a Little Rock hospital of suspected head trauma weeks after being beaten at his home.
Deputies with the Drew County sheriff’s office were initially called July 18 to a residence on Midway Route south of Monticello in reference to the assault of a man.
There, 67-year-old George Flowers told authorities that he heard a knock at his door and opened it to find a masked neighbor whom he had fought with before, Sheriff Mark Gober said.
The neighbor, later identified as Jeremy Huskey, 38, then began hitting the victim before authorities responded at the scene, Flowers told deputies.
Flowers refused medical treatment that day, according to the sheriff's office.
The victim was found unresponsive on the floor of his home two days later by a neighbor and taken by ambulance to UAMS Medical Center.
On Aug. 9, he was transferred to CHI St. Vincent for hospice care, where he was pronounced dead Sunday, Gober said.
Flowers’ body was taken to the state Crime Laboratory in Little Rock for an autopsy.
Based on the findings, Huskey could face upgraded charges if it is determined that the beating played a direct role in his death, according to the sheriff.
On July 24, Huskey was arrested on a charge of assault and was released on bond from the Drew County jail the next day, records show.
Huskey denied beating Flowers, but evidence, including reported items that had been removed from the home, linked him to the crime, Gober said.
The sheriff said Huskey was arrested again Wednesday on a charge of tampering with evidence. He remained jailed without bail as of Thursday, awaiting a first appearance in court Monday.
