JONESBORO, Ark. – A man found guilty of murdering his girlfriend by strangling her to death has been sentenced to 70 years in prison.
Shadrack Ward was found guilty of First-Degree Murder on Thursday, February 15 and was sentenced to 70 years imprisonment in the Arkansas Department of Correction, according to Prosecutor Sonia F. Hagood. He also was sentenced to 18 years for probation revocation.
Ward must serve all of the 18 year term and 70% of the 70 year sentence, the prosecutor said. That means he will serve at least 49 years in prison before he is eligible for release.
Ward, 38 at the time of his arrest, will be at least 86-years-old before he qualifies for early release.
The guilty verdict stems from a brutal murder on November 21, 2021 in Jonesboro. The Jonesboro Sun reported responders were called to the 200-block of Clover Drive to Ward’s home over an unresponsive person. Sabrina Benson, 42, was found in the hallway of the home.
At the time, the Craighead County deputy coroner could not determine the cause of death. The body was sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab.
When detectives learned from the crime lab that the cause of death was strangulation or blunt force trauma to the head, they brought in Ward for questioning. Sgt. Bill Brown questioned Ward on February 21, 2022. Ward initially claimed Benson had collapsed in the hallway but later admitted to an argument where she allegedly charged him, and he grabbed her with both hands around the neck.
The state was represented by Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jessica Thomason and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Charlene Davidson. Ward was represented by public defenders Matthew Lunde and Joseph Hughes. Circuit Judge Scott Ellington presided over the trial.
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I am just reading about this psycho. He deserves every bit of that sentence and more. I really wish they would bring back public hangings and the firing squad