The Ancestors and Cousins of Tracy Lynn DeVault

Mary Nell Rea was born about 1910 in Mount Vernon, Faulkner Co., Arkansas.⁶ She was born about 1910 in Levy, Pulaski Co., Arkansas.^1,2,7 She and John Homer Armstrong were married on 2 June 1928 in Faulkner Co., Arkansas.⁷ She and William Clyde Anderson were married on 6 April 1943 in Saline Co., Arkansas.⁷ She died on 31 July 1968 in Little Rock, Pulaski Co., Arkansas.⁶

Mary Nell Rea had reference number 53832. She was enumerated on the census in Faulkner County, Arkansas (1920, 1930); Pulaski County, Arkansas (1940.) She resided in Mount Vernon, Faulkner Co., Arkansas (1928); 317 Arch, Little Rock, Pulaski Co., Arkansas (1942); 604 S. Martin, Little Rock, Pulaski Co., Arkansas (1949 - 1958(.^8,7 She was a Manager - boarding house (1940); provided furnished rooms (1942.)^4,8 LEGAL NOTICE - Arkansas Gazette; Little Rock, Arkansas; Tuesday, October 23, 1945; Page 13 (GenealogyBank.com)

Mary Rea Anderson to First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Little Rock; mortgage; 10-11-45; $1,500; south 45 feet of lot 2, block 3, C. O. Kimball & Bodeman's addition to Little Rock.

OBITUARY - Arkansas Gazette; Little Rock, Arkansas; Thursday, August 1, 1968; Page 21 (photo)

Mrs. William Anderson
Mrs. Mary Rea Anderson of 5800 Stonewall Road, wife of William C. Anderson, died Wednesday. She was born at Mount Vernon (Faulkner County), a daughter of the late Thomas Herbert and Mrs. Plura Bayes Rea. She was a member of the First Baptist Church at Little Rock. Other survivors are two sons, John Armstrong and William Rea Anderson of Little Rock, and a brother, Forrest Rea of Mount Vernon. Funeral arrangements will be announced by Ruebel Funeral Home.

Citations

[S1096] 1920 Census, Arkansas, Faulkner County
[S12243] Passenger Lists - U.S., Departing Passenger and Crew Lists, 1914 - 1965 (Ancestry.com)
[S1539] 1930 Census, Arkansas, Faulkner County
[S2023] 1940 Census, Arkansas, Pulaski County
[S6727] Genealogy prepared by Mary Ann Bell (email address)
[S11274] Obituary - Mary l. or N. (Rea) Armstrong-Anderson
[S8900] Marriage Records - Arkansas, Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837 - 1957 (Ancestry.com)
[S12427] U.S. City Directories, 1821 - 1989 (Ancestry.com)

Family Explorer

Thomas Forrest Rea^1,2,3

M, #53518, b. 26 November 1914, d. 4 January 1989

Parents

Father	Thomas Herbert Rea (b. 9 October 1877, d. 4 January 1951)
Mother	Plura Bays (b. August 1886, d. 1921)

Pedigree Link

Family: Geraldine Thompson (b. 5 May 1920, d. 11 October 1983)

Daughter	Cecilia Marie Rea
Son	Michael F. Rea (b. 25 August 1939, d. 7 September 1996)
Daughter	Judith A. Rea
Daughter	Marilyn Rea
Daughter	Carolyn Rea+ (b. 13 May 1943, d. 10 August 2001)
Daughter	Rosemary Rea
Son	Jonathan Rea
Daughter	Anita F. Rea

BASIC FACTS

Thomas Forrest Rea was born on 26 November 1914 in Mount Vernon, Faulkner Co., Arkansas.^1,4 He and Geraldine Thompson were married on 27 December 1937 in Faulkner Co., Arkansas.⁴ He died on 4 January 1989, at age 74, in Judsonia, White Co., Arkansas.⁴ He was buried in Harmony Cemetery, White Co., Arkansas.⁴

Thomas Forrest Rea had reference number 53833. He was enumerated on the census in Faulkner County, Arkansas (1920 - 1940.) He was a Farm helper - general farm (1930); farmer - farming (1940.)^2,3 He resided in Mount Vernon, Faulkner Co., Arkansas (1968.)⁵

Citations

[S1096] 1920 Census, Arkansas, Faulkner County
[S1539] 1930 Census, Arkansas, Faulkner County
[S2018] 1940 Census, Arkansas, Faulkner County, Source Medium: Book
[S4980] Find A Grave (Internet), Source Medium: Book
[S11274] Obituary - Mary l. or N. (Rea) Armstrong-Anderson

Family Explorer

Geraldine Thompson^1,2

F, #53519, b. 5 May 1920, d. 11 October 1983

Parents

Father	Roy Haydon Thompson
Mother	Ruth Eleanor Harrison

Pedigree Link

Family: Thomas Forrest Rea (b. 26 November 1914, d. 4 January 1989)

Daughter	Cecilia Marie Rea
Son	Michael F. Rea (b. 25 August 1939, d. 7 September 1996)
Daughter	Judith A. Rea
Daughter	Marilyn Rea
Daughter	Carolyn Rea+ (b. 13 May 1943, d. 10 August 2001)
Daughter	Rosemary Rea
Son	Jonathan Rea
Daughter	Anita F. Rea

BASIC FACTS

Geraldine Thompson was born on 5 May 1920 in Arkansas.^1,3 She and Thomas Forrest Rea were married on 27 December 1937 in Faulkner Co., Arkansas.³ She died on 11 October 1983, at age 63, in Ohio.³ She was buried in Crestlawn Memorial Park, Conway, Faulkner Co., Arkansas.³

Geraldine Thompson had reference number 53834. She was enumerated on the census in Faulkner County, Arkansas (1940.) Her Social Security Number was 429-88-1221, issued: Arkansas, last residence: Conway, Faulkner Co., Arkansas.⁴ OBITUARY - Arkansas Democrat; Little Rock, Arkansas; Friday, November 11, 1983; Page 33

Mrs. Geraldine Rea
Mrs. Geraldine Thompson Rea, 63, of CONWAY died Thursday. Mrs. Rea was a member ot Second Baptist Church. Survivors are two sons, Jonathan Rea of Conway and Michael F. Rea of Beebe; six daughters, Mrs. Cecilia Norman, Mrs. Rosemary Bartley and Mrs. Anita Fuller, all of Conway, Mrs. Carolyn Johnson of Greenbrier, Mrs. Marilyn Burroughs of Beebe and Mrs. Judith Shull of Shirley; two brothers, Thomas Thompson of Conway and Charles Thompson of Little Rock, three sisters, Mrs. Juanita Rhea of Vilonia, Mrs. Wyoma Hyche of Wooster and Mrs. Delphia Dillaha of Fort Worth, Texas; 21 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Funeral will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Second Baptist Church. Burial will be in Crestlawn Memorial Park by McNutt Funeral Home.

GRAVE MARKER

GERALDINE REA
MAY 5, 1920
NOV. 10, 1983.

Citations

[S2018] 1940 Census, Arkansas, Faulkner County, Source Medium: Book
[S4473] Email from Don Boyd, dated November 1, 2016
[S4980] Find A Grave (Internet), Source Medium: Book
[S12399] Social Security Death Index, Source Medium: Book

Family Explorer

Cecilia Marie Rea

F, #53520

Parents

Father	Thomas Forrest Rea (b. 26 November 1914, d. 4 January 1989)
Mother	Geraldine Thompson (b. 5 May 1920, d. 11 October 1983)

Pedigree Link

Family Explorer

Michael F. Rea^1,2

M, #53521, b. 25 August 1939, d. 7 September 1996

Parents

Father	Thomas Forrest Rea (b. 26 November 1914, d. 4 January 1989)
Mother	Geraldine Thompson (b. 5 May 1920, d. 11 October 1983)

Pedigree Link

BASIC FACTS

Michael F. Rea was born on 25 August 1939 in Arkansas.^1,2 He died on 7 September 1996, at age 57, in Faulkner Co., Arkansas.² He was buried in Cadron Valley Cemetery, Greenbrier, Faulkner Co., Arkansas.³

Michael F. Rea had reference number 53836. He was enumerated on the census in Faulkner County, Arkansas (1940.) GRAVE MARKER

MICHAEL F REA
A1C U.S. AIR FORCE
VIETNAM
AUG 25 1939 SEP 7 1996

Note: A separate marker reads "Fiance of Deola Hartwick."

Citations

[S2018] 1940 Census, Arkansas, Faulkner County, Source Medium: Book
[S4473] Email from Don Boyd, dated November 1, 2016
[S4980] Find A Grave (Internet), Source Medium: Book

Family Explorer

William Clyde Anderson^1,2,3,4,5,6

M, #53522, b. 29 July 1916, d. 29 December 1973

Parents

Father	George Percy "Pink" Anderson
Mother	Thelma Unknown

Pedigree Link

Family: Mary Nell Rea (b. about 1910, d. 31 July 1968)

Son	William Rea Anderson+ (b. 13 April 1944, d. 1 March 2004)

BASIC FACTS

William Clyde Anderson was born on 29 July 1916 in McAlester, Pittsburg Co., Oklahoma.^3,4,7 He and Mary Nell Rea were married on 6 April 1943 in Saline Co., Arkansas.³ He died on 29 December 1973, at age 57, in Little Rock, Pulaski Co., Arkansas.^8,9 He was buried in Roselawn Memorial Park, Little Rock, Pulaski Co., Arkansas.⁹

William Clyde Anderson had reference number 53837. He was a Patrolman - city (1940); policeman - City of Little Rock, Pulaski Co., Arkansas (1949); owner-operator of Anderson Auto Sales, North Little Rock, Pulaski Co., Arkansas (- 1973.)^2,4,9 He was enumerated on the census in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma (1920); Pulaski County, Arkansas (1930, 1940.) It appears that William was first married to Azalee Unknown. After Mary passed away he married Lenora M. Unknown.

OBITUARY - Arkansas Democrat; Little Rock, Arkansas; Sunday, December 30, 1973; Page 32 (GenealogyBank.com)

Retired policeman found shot
William C. "Bill" Anderson, 57, a retired Little Rock policeman and owner of a used car lot in North Little Rock, was found shot to death at his desk at the car lot about 11 a.m. Saturday, police said.
Lt. Robert Tucker, head of the homicide squad, said a 23-year-old black man was under police guard at the University of Arkansas Medical Center suffering from gunshot wounds in the stomach but Tucker said it hadn't been officially determined that the man was connected with Anderson's death.
The man, whom Tucker declined to identify, showed up at the hospital a short time after witnesses told police they say a young black man leave Anderson's Auto Sales at 2600 East Broadway following the sound of gunfire from inside the car lot office.
Anderson lived at 1101 Gillette Drive.
He was a member of Magnolia Lodge 60 and the Arkansas Consistory.
Surviving are his widow. Mrs. Lenora M. Anderson; a son, William R. Anderson of Little Rock; two stepsons, John Armstrong of Los Angeles and James B. Heim of Little Rock, and three grandchildren.
Funeral will be at 3:30 p.m. Monday at Ruebel Funeral Home by Rev. George Tribou. Burial will be in Roselawn Memorial Park.

Note: In other articles it is stated that he was shot at 11 p.m.

OBITUARY - Arkansas Gazette; Little Rock, Arkansas; Sunday, December 30, 1973; Page 16 (GenealogyBank.com)

Car Dealer Found Shot At NLR
William C. Anderson, 57, the owner of Anderson Auto Sales at 1819 East Broadway, North Little Rock, was shot to death at the car lot about 11 a.m. Saturday.
Lt. Robert Tucker said Anderson's body was found sitting in a chair in his office slumped over his desk. He said Anderson was shot with a pistol three time in the stomach and once in the cheek bone.
Witnesses said they saw a man run from the office and get into a car driven by another man. The witnesses said the man appeared to be limping. A pistol was found lying in Anderson's lap and two shells had been fired.
The police were waiting to interview a man who was being treated at the University Hospital for a gunshot wound in the stomach. The man was under sedation after surgery late Saturday.
Tucker said he did not know the motive for the shooting, but some property was taken. He said there were signs of a struggle in the office. A telephone was turned over and Tucker thought Anderson might have been calling for assistance when the shooting occurred.
Anderson lived at 1101 Gillette Drive and was a retired Little Rock policeman. He was a member of Magnolia Lodge 60 F and AM and the Arkansas Consistory. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Lenora M. Anderson; a son, William R. Anderson of Little Rock; two step-sons, John Armstrong of Los Angeles and James B. Heim of Little Rock, and three grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at 3:30 p.m. Monday at Ruebel Funeral Home by Rev. George Tribou. Burial will be in Roselawn Memorial Park.

Note: The name and location given for Anderson's used car lot given in this article differes from that given in subsequent articles.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE - Arkansas Democrat; Little Rock, Arkansas; Tuesday, January 15, 1974; Page 5 (GenealogyBan.com)

Court delays surgery order for bullet
Patient charged with murder of NLR man
THe state Supreme Court Monday granted a delay on a search warrant that was issued for the purpose of removing a bullet from near the spinal cord of an accused murderer.
THe court granted the delay at the request of the public defender's office.
The warrant was issued for a bullet in the back of John Arthur Bowden. He was charged Monday with the murder of Bill Anderson a North Little Rock used car dealer.
Anderson was killed Dec. 29 at about 11 p.m. Police said Anderson had fired two shots from his .38-caliber pistol before he was killed.
Bowden was admitted to the University of Arkansas Medical Center at about 11:20 p.m. suffering from a gunshot wound, Deputy Pros. Atty. Jim Hamilton said.
Bowden, 21, of 2905 Battery Street, told hospital officials that he was wounded during a dice game near Granite Mountain. He said he was shot with a 22-caliber weapon.
Doctors, however, testified last week that the bullet, which entered Bowden's stomach and lodged near his spinal cord, was probably a .38-caliber.
Hamilton requested a search warrent to allow him to order doctors to remove the bullet. Pulaski Circuit Judge Richard B. Adkisson granted the warrant after a hearing Friday. He made the warrant effective noon Tuesday to give the public defender's office time to appeal the case.
Bowden has refused to permit the operation.
At the hearing Dr. Wilbur Giles testified that the chances of the bullet causing permanent damage if not removed were about 5 percent. The chances are about equal that the operation to remove the bullet would cause some permanent damage, Giles testified.
Giles added, however, that he would recommend removal of the bullet from a medical standpoint.
According to the defender's office, the issue at question is whether the operation would be a minor or major intrusion on Bowden's person.
Several courts have ruled that minor intrusions do not violate a person's constitutional rights.
The Georgia Supreme Court, for example, held in 1972 that the state could remove a bullet from a defendant where only local anesthetic would be used.
In 1972 the Pulaski County prosecutor's office received a similar search warrant for a bullet in the arm of Silas Blue Taylor, who was then suspected of killing Marvin O. Drake, a Texas truck driver. The bullet was obtained and Taylor was convicted of murder.
The warrant concerning Bowden now will be handled as a regular appeal to the Supreme Court. The defender's office has 30 days in which to file a brief and the attorney general's office has 21 days to respond. The attorney general's office handles all appeals for the state involving criminal cases.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE - Arkansas Democrat; Little Rock, Arkansas; February 5, 1974; Page 16 (GenealogyBank.com)

Trial in slaying of car dealer set
Freddie D. Freeman and John A. Bowden will go on trial in Pulaski Circuit Court May 7 and 8 for the murder of a North Little Rock used car dealer.
Ralph Anderson, the car dealer, was killed at his business at 2600 Broadway on Dec. 29. Anderson, a retired North Little Rock policeman was shot four times.
Anderson fired his pistol twice before dying, police said. About 20 minutes after the shooting, Bowden, 21, of 2905 Battery Street, was admitted to the University of Arkansas Medical Center suffering from a bullet wound in the stomach, police said.
The prosecuting attorney's office, in an effort to have the bullet removed from Bowden's back for ballistics tests, obtained a search warrant for the bullet from Pulaski Curcuit Judge Richard B. Adkisson, but the state Supreme Court delayed serving of the warrant until the case can be argued.
A medical Center doctor told police that the bullet in Bowden, which is lodged near his spine, probably was a .38-caliber -- the same caliber as Anderson's gun.
Freeman, 22, was arrested several days after the shooting.
Pulaski Circuit Judge William J. Kirby will preside at the trial.

Note: The murder victim was William Clyde "Bill" Anderson, not Ralph Anderson.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE - The Arkansas Democrat; Little Rock, Arkansas; Tuesday, June 25, 1974; Page 13 (GenealogyBank.com)

No delay in trial expected
The state Supreme Court's ruling denying a search warrant for a bullet in John Arthur Bowden, a murder suspect, will not delay his trial.
According to Deputy Pros. Atty. Wilbur C. "Dub" Bentley a trial date will be set for Bowden on July.
Bowden is one of three men accused in the Dec. 29, 1973, slaying of North Little Rock used car dealer, Bill Anderson. The other men are Freddie Freeman and Walter Bowden. All three are being held in the Pulaski County Jail in lieu of bond.

SHOT 4 TIMES
Anderson was shot to death in the office of his used car lot at 2600 Broadway about 11 p.m. He was shot four times.
Police found Anderson's gun in his lap. It had been fired twice. Witnesses outside the car office saw one of the two men who ran from the building clutching his stomach.
Bowden, 21, was admitted to the University of Arkansas Medical Center about 11:20 p.m. suffering from a gunshot wound in his stomach. He said he had been playing dice in the Granite Mountain area. He refused to allow doctors to remove the bullet.
The prosecuting attorney's office requested and got a search warrant for the bullet in Bowden, which had become lodged near his spine.

STAY ASKED
Bowden's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to stay the search warrant until they could research the law concerning such a procedure. After considering the legal arguments, the court Monday made the stay permanent.
Bentley said Bowden was scheduled for plea and arraignment in Circuit Judge WIlliam J. Kirby's court July 1. "I expect the trial date will be set then," Bentley said.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE - Arkansas Gazette; Little Rock, Arkansas; Tuesday, July 30, 1974; Page 23 (GenealogyBank.com)

Jury Chosen In Slaying Of Car Dealer
A jury of 10 men and two women was selected Monday in Circuit Court for the trial of three men charged with first-degree murder in the December 29 slaying of William C. Anderson, 57, a North Little Rock used car dealer.
Anderson, a retired Little Rock policeman, was white. The defendants are black, and there are two blacks on the jury.
Circuit Judge William J. Kirby recessed the trial to 9:30 a.m. today for opening statements by attorneys, to be followed by testimony.
The defendants are John Arthur (Ray) Bowden, 21, of 2905 Battery Street; his brother, Walter Lee Bowden, 22, of 1000 East Washington Avenue, North Little Rock and Freddie Dean Freeman, 22, of 1319 Gaines Street. They are charged with shooting Anderson in the office of his car lot at 1819 East Broadway, North Little Rock, during a robbery.
The jury selection lasted only from 9:30 a.m. to 12:25 p.m. Monday. The judge and attorneys, expecting the jury selection to take at least a full day, had notified witnesses not to report until today, and so the first day session was cut short, with the trial recessed as soon as the jury was empaneled.
In the judge's chambers, before selection of the jury began, Chief Deputy Public Defender John W. Achor moved unsuccessfully for Judge Kirby to instruct the prosecution not to mention in the jury's presence that one defendant, John Arthur Bowden, had been admitted to the hospital with a gunshot wound shortly after the slaying. The state Supreme Court ruled June 24 that the state could not compel John Arthur Bowden to undergo surgery to have the bullet removed so that a ballistics test could be made on it, but the state is expected to present evidence about the wound.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Wilbur C. (Dub) Bentley waived the death penalty. He is assisted by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney James P. Hamilton. Achor is assisted by Deputy Public Defenders Robert Lowery and Jewel Brown.

Note: A subsequent article says the trial ended in a conviction of the three men, however, no contemporaneous newspaper article was found reporting the results of the trial.

LEGAL NOTICE - Arkansas Gazette; Little Rock, Arkansas; October 2, 1974; Page 35 (GenealogyBank.com)

Final Accounting of Estate of William Clyde Anderson
Anderson, William Clyde, Leona J. Anderson, William Rea Anderson, Little Rock, Arkansas, Final Accounting, 9-3-74.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE - Arkansas Gazette; Little Rock, Arkansas; Friday, May 23, 1975; Page 10 (GenealogyBank.com)

Settlement of Will Is Negotiated
William C. Anderson, a retired North Little Rock policeman who was murdered December 29, 1973, in his used car lot office, had made a handwritten will leaving his $67,469 estate to his only son, but the will couldn't be found, the son contended in a recent petition to have the will "established" by court order.
Before a ruling was made on the petition, the son, William Rea Anderson, 29, of 808 Gillette Drive, negotiated a settlement over the estate with a half-sister he said he hadn't known he had until after his father's death.
The half-sister, Mrs. Helen Yvonne Anderson Baldridge of West Covina, Cal., who was elder Anderson's daughter by his first marriage, had filed a petition asking for $21, 647, or about a third of the estate. Her attorney, Harlan A Weber of Little Rock, said Wednesday she had accepted a settlement a "good bit less than" that. Weber and Philip E. Dixon, the younger Anderson's attorney, refused to disclose the exact amount.
The younger Anderson is the late Anderson's son by a second marriage. Anderson's widow, Mrs. Lenora J. Anderson, of 1101 Gillette Drive, his third wife, who had been married to him about three years, was in a nutral position because she stood to receive a third of the estate regardless of its outcome. She and Anderson had no children.
If a husband dies without leaving a will the widow is automatically entitled by law to dower rights, which amount to a third of the estate, and children divide the remaining two-thirds.
The widow and son had been appointed co-executors of Anderson's estate, had settled all claims and had had it closed by Probate Court last September. Mrs Anderson received $21, 647 and the son $43,294. Then Mrs. Baldridge filed her petition in November to reopen the case and have a third of the assets paid to her. Anderson then filed his claim that a holographic (handwritten) will had been lost or destroyed.
Chancellor Darrel Hickman heard testimony May 7. Three witnesses, Miss Hazel Walker of Ashdown and Little Rock, a professional basketball star of the 1950s and 1960s, and Mr. and Mrs. John Dunar of DeValls Bluff, testified that they had seen the will on different occasions in the elder Anderson's office at his car lot at 1819 East Broadway, North Little Rock. All three said they had signed the will at Anderson's request. They said he had them read it and made the point that he was excluding the daughter as a beneficiary. They said the reason he gave was that she had been living in California for many years and he and she weren't "close."
Weber said Mrs. Baldridge learned about her father's death about a year after his murder when an anonymous person mailed her a Gazette clipping about it. Three men were convicted July 30, 1974, of the murder, allegedly committed during an attempted robbery, and were sentenced to life.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE - Arkansas Gazette; Little Rock, Arkansas; Tuesday, October 14, 1975; Page 30 (GenealogyBank.com)

Retrial Ordered For 3 Accused in 1973 Slaying
On Findings that a lower court judge made three errors, the Arkansas Supreme Court Monday ordered a new trial for three men who were convicted in July 1974 of killing William C. Anderson, 57, a North Little Rock used car dealer.
The three, Freddie Dean (Big Man) Freeman, 23, John Arthur, 22, and Walter Lee Bowden, 23, were sentenced to life in prison for killing Anderson while robbing him December 29, 1973.
Associate Justice John A Fogleman said the Court found that Pulaski Circuit Judge William Kirby should not have allowed Walter Bowden's confession into evidence, because it had not been given voluntarily. In addition, the Court said, a physician was allowed to go too far and stepped on the patient-doctor privelege in his testimony about the dangers of removing a bullet that had lodged in the back of John Arthur Bowden, who was shot during the incident.
Finally, the Court ruled that the North Little Rock police had seized Freeman's automobile improperly without a warrant and that no evidence about the car should have been admitted under those circumstances.
Walter Bowden was taken into custody by North Little Rock detectives two days after Anderson was found fatally shot, slumped in a chair at his used car dealership. The detectives told Bowden of his rights before questioning him, but did not charge him. A lie detector test was scheduled for January 1, 1974, and Bowden was held overnight in jail. After the test, the detectives gave Bowden another reading of his rights and began questioning him again. He was allowed to telephone an uncle. In the meantime Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jim Hamilton was summoned to the jail, where he told Bowden he could not make any promises, but that if Bowden had committed a crime, it probably was one that would not bring more than 21 years in prison.

Bowden Agrees To Statement
Asked if he wanted to make a statement, Bowden said yes. His rights were reread, after which "Walter, who had then been in jail about 30 hours, made a statement admitting his participation in the robbery of Anderson, in planning it with Freeman and going with both to the scene in Freeman's automobile, waiting for them and driving them away from the scene," according to Justice Fogleman's opinion.
Walter Bowden's version was that he was promised a 21-year sentence if he gave a statement and testified against the other two, and that he signed the statement because of this and the threat that he would get the death penalty if he did not. Both Hamilton and a detective denied that any mention was made of the death penalty.
The state first asked for the death penalty against Freeman and John Arthur Bowden, but later waived it. Walter Bowden was charged only with robbery at first, but that was changed to murder in an amended information in April 1974.

'Feeling Inescapable,' Court Holds
"Even though we give full credit to the testimony of the deputy prosecuting attorney who talked with Walter that he made no promise to Walter and that he specifically stated that he had no authority to do so, the conclusion that Walter was justified in feeling that there was an implied promise of leniency is inescapable when we view all the circumstances, including the course of events following his confession. We must hold that the confession was involuntary and inadmissible,: the Court said.
When found at the car lot at 2600 East Broadway, Anderson had recently fired a .38 caliber pistol in his lap. This led detectives to the University Medical Hospital where John Arthur Bowden was being treated for a gunshot wound in the abdomen.
The court has held in previous cases that the statutorily protected doctor-patient relationship was not intended to protect a criminal from just punishment. However, the information a physician must give is limited to that needed for him to give first aid treatment.

Says Doctor Told Too Much
It was all right for Bowden's physician to describe the wound and its location, but he did not have to discuss the surgical treatment prescribed or the fact that the bullet had not been removed, Justice Fogleman said. "The [doctor-patient] privilege operates to exclude information obtained for diagnosis and treatment by means other than communications by the patient, diagnosis for treatment or surgery as well as the information on which it is based, treatment prescribed as a result of the information gained, and descriptions of the patient's condition or the extent of his injuries."
"Thus," the opinion concluded, "the doctor's testimony about the danger of removal of the bullet, the prospect of removal, and the failure to remove it should have been excluded."
Several witnesses described seeing a gold-colored car leave the used car lot after the robbery-slaying. North Little Rock detectives went to Freeman's home January 2, 1974, with a warrant for his arrest. A gold and white Buick was parked in back of the home at 1319 Gaines Street, Little Rock. Freeman was arrested about two blocks from home while riding in another car.

Police Wanted Buick Impounded
The police wanted the Buick impounded and started to call a wrecker. Told that he could either let one of the police officers drive the car or he would have to pay the towing charge, Freeman chose the former. Pictures of the car were taken at police headquarters, and they were introduced later into evidence over Freeman's objections.
The state tried to justify the seizure as incident to Freeman's arrest, but the Court didn't agree.
It cannot seriously be argued that the sezure of Freeman's automobile was incident to his arrest two blocks away * * *. In order to justify a seizure on this ground, the vehicle must have been in the immediate vicinity * * *, the area from which he might gain possession of a weapon or other instrument which might be useful in effecting an escape or destruction of evidence."
There was probable cause to seize the automobile, the Court continued, but there was time in which to obtain a warrant. "Of course," the opinion added, "It cannot be argued seriously that Freeman's agreement that the police officer could drive the car to the police station constituted consent to its seizure under the circumstances. The only alternative was that it would be towed there at his expense."
Justice Elsijane T. Roy, sworn into office last week, did not participate in the decision.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE - Arkansas Democrat; Little Rock, Arkansas; Thursday, December 18, 1975; Page 10

Suspect testifies in NLR murder retrial
Freddie Dean Freeman, 23, testified today in Pulaski Circuit Court that he only drove the get-away car for Walter Lee Bowden, 23, and John A. Boden, 22, after the Boden brothers robbed and killed retired North Little Rock policeman William C. Anderson.
Anderson was robbed and shot to death at his used car lot - Southern Auto Sales at 2600 East Broadway, North Little Rock - on Dec. 29, 1973.
Freeman and both Bowden brothers were convicted of first-degree murder by a jury on July 31, 1974, in connection with the incident, but the state Supreme Court reversed the convictions and, on Oct. 13, ordered a new trail.
It could not be determined late this morning whether the state had dropped charges against Freeman after he agreed to testify for the state.
Freeman testified that he met Walter Bowden at Mabel's Cafe in North Little Rock and that they picked up John Bowden before the robbery-murder. Freeman said he waited in the car while the Bowden brothers left, saying they were going to borrow some money, and, he said, he did not know the Bowdens had guns until they returned to his car.
Freeman said he drove both men to University Hospital after the robbery-murder, because John Bowden had been shot and Walter Bowden had twisted an ankle.
The fact that John Bowden still has a bullet lodged next to his spine, which is believed to have come from Anderson's gun, was an issue in the first trial of the men. The state Supreme Court ruled that an order from Pulaski Circuit Court to remove the bullet from John Bowden for evidence was an unconstitutional invasion.
In its reversal of the men's convictions this year, the state Supreme Couirt also ruled that part of the testimony given by a doctor who treated John Bowden should not have been admitted in the July 1974 trial.
The main reason given by the state Supreme Court for its reversal of the convictions was a confession Walter Bowden had given police was inadmissable as evidence.
The alleged confession said Walter Bowden was the driver of the get-away car.
During the first trial, Freeman was linked to the crime by testimony that he traded a .32-caliber gun for a .38-caliber gun at a North Little Rock pawn shop and brought hollow point bullets two days before the crime like those that killed Anderson.
Under cross-examination today, Freeman admitted that he did trade for a .38-caliber gun on Dec. 27, 1973, but he claimed that he did not know what kind of bullets he brought and that he did not have his gun with him on Dec. 29, 1973, when he drove the Bowdens to the scene of the crime.
In his opening statements to the jury of 10 men and two women, public defender Harold L. Hall said that Freeman was going to "tell you a whole bunch of lies to save himself."
Freeman aslo had been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the June 10, 1973 robbery and shooting death of Monty Delray Stancliff, 18, an attendant at Curt's Oil Co. station at Asher Avenue and Maple Street. Freeman and another defendant were tried for the crime in October 1973, and both were acquitted.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE - Arkansas Gazette; Little Rock, Arkansas; Wednesday, November 26, 1975; Page 3 (GenealogyBank.com)

Dismissal In Slaying Is Studied
Judge William J. Kirby took under advisement Tuesday a motion to dismiss charges against Walter Lee Bowden, 23, of North Little Rock, one of three men charged in the slaying of William C. Anderson, 57, a North Little Rock used car dealer, December 29, 1973
Bowden and his brother, John Arthur Bowden, 23, also of North Little Rock, and Freddie Dean (Big Man) Freeman, 23, of Little Rock were convicted of first-degree murder in the slaying July 31. They were sentenced to life in prison for killing Anderson while robbing him. The Arkansas Supreme Court, however, reversed the conviction October 13, ruling that Judge Kirby shouldn't have allowed Walter Bowden's confession into evidence because it hadn't been given voluntarily.
Bob Lowry, deputy public defender, argued Tuesday that the evidence against Walter Lee Bowden wasn't sufficient to convict him. He appeared before Judge Kirby for John W. Achor, chief deputy public defender and Walter Bowden's attorney.
Judge Kirby said he would rule on the motion after the three were retried and the state had presented all its evidence. He set their trial for December 15.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE - Arkansas Democrat; Little Rock, Arkansas; Monday, November 1, 1976; Page 9 (GenealogyBank.com)

Supreme Court Affirms 2 murder convictions
The state Supreme Court affirmed today the first degree murder convictions of two North Little Rock brothers whose earlier convictions on the charges had been reversed by the court.
The court affirmed the convictions of John Arthur Bowden, 24, and Walter Bowden, 25, for the Dec. 29, 1973 murder of William C. Anderson, then 57, a North Little Rock used car dealer and former Little Rock policeman. Anderson was shot during a robbery at his car lot.
In 1974, the Bowden brothers and a third man, Freddie Lee Freeman, 23, also of North Little Rock, were convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life inprisonment. However, in Oct. 1975, the Supreme Court overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial for the three. The court overturned the case mainly because it ruled an inadmissable confession and been introduced.
Freeman turned state's evidence during a second trial in December 1975 and testified against the Bowden brothers. The brothers were again found guilt of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Freeman later plead guilty and was sentenced to 21 years in prison.
In the December trial the prosecution presented a new witness who corroborated the testimony of Freeman. The witness, Johnnie Buckley of North Little Rock, was discovered during the trial, the state said.
In their appeal, the Bowdens argued that they had not had time to prepare for the new testimony presented by Buckley. The court noted that the judge gave the Bowdens' attorneys one day continuance to investigate Buckley after having cross examined him in chambers.
The court also said that the judge did not abuse the discretion in continuing the trial for one day to permit the state to search for a witness.

Note: Freedie Lee Freeman has also been called Freddie Dean Freeman in other articles. Also, a similar article appeared in the Arkansas Gazette; Little Rock, Arkansas; Tuesday, November 2, 1976; Page 4 (GenealogyBank.com)

OBITUARY - George Percy "Pink" Anderson (father of William Clyde Anderson); Arkansas Gazette; Little Rock, Arkansas; Friday, August 7, 1981; Page 16 (GenealogyBank.com)

George Anderson
George Percy Anderson, aged 85, of 1910 Center Street, a retired employe of Rock Island Lines, died Thursday. A native of Texas, he was a member of Oakhurst Missionary Baptist Church and the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. Survivors are his wife, Mrs. Beulah Tucker Anderson; a brother, Joe Anderson of Longview, Tex.; two sisters, Mrs. Ruth Campbell of West Monroe, La., and Mrs. Katherine Huff of Longview, a grandchild and a great-grandchild. Funeral arrangements will be announced by Griffin Leggett Healey and Roth.

Note: George Percy Anderson's second wife was Beulah Aquilla (Tucker) Anderson. They were married on March 20, 1944 at Logan County, Arkansas.

Citations

[S11980] Obituary - Thomas Herbert Rea
[S12427] U.S. City Directories, 1821 - 1989 (Ancestry.com)
[S8900] Marriage Records - Arkansas, Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837 - 1957 (Ancestry.com)
[S2023] 1940 Census, Arkansas, Pulaski County
[S1387] 1920 Census, Oklahoma, Pittsburg County
[S1543] 1930 Census, Arkansas, Pulaski County
[S12481] U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940 - 1947 (Ancestry.com)
[S10264] Obituary - George Percy "Pink" Anderson
[S12120] Obituary - William Clyde Anderson

Family Explorer

Roy Haydon Thompson¹

M, #53523

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Family: Ruth Eleanor Harrison

Daughter

Geraldine Thompson+ (b. 5 May 1920, d. 11 October 1983)

BASIC FACTS

Roy Haydon Thompson had reference number 53838.

Citations

[S4473] Email from Don Boyd, dated November 1, 2016

Family Explorer

Ruth Eleanor Harrison¹

F, #53524

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Family: Roy Haydon Thompson

Daughter

Geraldine Thompson+ (b. 5 May 1920, d. 11 October 1983)

BASIC FACTS

Ruth Eleanor Harrison had reference number 53839.

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[S4473] Email from Don Boyd, dated November 1, 2016

Family Explorer

Unknown Norman

M, #53525

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