Mental eval ordered for DQ man accused of capital murder
A De Queen man accused of killing three family members in Madison County in 2021 has been ordered to undergo a mental evaluation to determine if he is capable of standing before a jury trial.
According to court records, the Circuit Court of Madison County ordered the mental health evaluation last month for 25-year-old Hunter Chenoweth of De Queen. Chenoweth is accused of killing his mother, 51-year-old Tami Lynn Chenoweth; his stepfather, 59-year-old James Stanley McGhee; and his sister, 26-year-old Cheyenne Chenoweth. All three were found deceased inside a home in Madison County on Feb. 23 of 2021, according to the Arkansas State Police.
The evaluation will determine if Chenoweth, who has pleaded not guilty to the three counts of capital murder, is capable of appearing in court for a jury trial.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in Chenoweth’s case. Chenoweth’s attorneys filed a motion early last year seeking to prevent the death penalty as a possible sentence in his case. Chenoweth asked the court to hold a hearing to present evidence suggesting that prosecutors are denying him the opportunity to enter a plea and thereby avoid the death penalty. The motion described the lack of a plea deal from prosecutors as “abritrary, capricious and standardless.”
That motion was defeated and the Madison County Circuit Court upheld the prosecution’s intent to seek the death penalty. The notice of intent originally filed by prosecutors states the murders for which Chenoweth has been accused were committed in an “especially cruel and depraved manner.”
Chenoweth’s defense was unable to prove its claim that nothing in his case distinguishes it from other cases in which the State of Arkansas has agreed to a plea bargain for a sentence of less than death. A further defense motion sought to proclaim the death penalty as “cruel and unusual” and prohibit it as a sentence in Chenoweth’s case.
The court order filed last year denied Chenoweth’s claim and makes him eligible for the death penalty upon his conviction. Defense attorneys then filed a notice of intent to raise lack of criminal responsibility as a defense due to mental health issues.
Chenoweth has been repeatedly scheduled to appear in court for a jury trial over the past year and a half. However, the trial has been continued on several occasions due to . The jury trial is now on hold pending completion of the mental health evaluation incomplete reports from the Arkansas State Crime Lab.
