Suspect returned to Arkansas, release announced Monday

CLAY COUNTY, Ark. – The Clay County sheriff announced a man has been returned to Arkansas on an arrest warrant for capital murder in the February murder of Larry Boyer of St. Francis, Arkansas.

Parris Hill, 32, of Sikeston, Missouri, was announced returned to Arkansas in a news release from Sheriff Terry Miller on Monday.

The arrest affidavit and arrest warrant were both released Monday and show authorities tracked Hill from Sikeston, Missouri to St. Francis, Arkansas on February 16, 2020. Hill showed up to Boyer’s residence unannounced shortly before 9 PM. Police say Hill fatally shot Boyer as the victim’s wife was inside. She walked outside and found him lying dead on the ground.

But it isn’t the only case Hill is tied to.

Court documents show the 74-year-old Clay County victim, Boyer, had been shot one time in the face by what appeared to be a black powder firearm. A nearly-half-inch in diameter round lead ball was recovered from the scene.

It was eerily similar to two previous shootings in Missouri – one in Van Buren and the other in Essex. In both cases, white elderly men were shot after a subject had knocked on the door of their residences. In both cases, projectiles were recovered matching the size of the that used in Boyer’s murder. Authorities also learned of a suspect vehicle, a smaller maroon car. It was seen on home security camera footage in Clay County. It also matched up to witness reports of a vehicle seen in both Missouri shootings.

Investigators submitted search warrants to Google for geo-fence data around the three victim’s residences during the time-period of the shootings. They learned Hill’s cell phone was three meters from the front door when the shooting in Van Buren took place. Later, after submitting more specific requests, authorities matched his path from Sikeston to St. Francis on February 16, too – the date of Boyer’s murder.

The next break in the case was a from traffic stop on April 8 by Sikeston Police Department. This led to the arrest of Hill on a felony assault warrant. At the time of his arrest, he was in possession of a .44 caliber black powder pistol. He was also driving a maroon 2015 Nissan Altima.

Once in custody, authorities executed a search warrant on Hill’s phone. What they learned was chilling. On February 18, two days after the Clay County murder, Hill searched for Boyer’s obituary and grave-site information. Then, on March 6, authorities found geo-location data indicating Hill drove from Sikeston to the cemetery Boyer was buried at – in Campbell, Missouri.

Hill is being charged with capital murder in Arkansas, which is punishable by life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. He had previously served time in Missouri for shooting someone with a black powder pistol in 2014, court records state.

No information in the court filings gives any clues as to what motivated the shootings.