Individual Details

Batesville Daily Guard-Record
January 4, 2005
CAVE CITY - Charges may or may not be filed today in connection with the stabbing death of 38-year-old Stephen Furr who was found in his mobile home on Buck Lane, east of Cave City.
Prosecutor Henry Boyce told the Guard he has not reviewed the case as of this morning.
"I will have to carefully look at all the evidence before I make a decision," Boyce said.
In the meantime, authorities have two people in custody.
William F. Young Jr. and Leslie Young, both of Cave City, are expected to be formally charged with murder in Sharp County Circuit Court, Sharp County Sheriff Dale Weaver said.
"The exact charge will be decided by the prosecutor," Weaver said. A first appearance hearing is expected to follow the filing of charges, he said.
Furr was found dead about 7:18 p.m. Monday when his ex-wife, Devonda Furr, went to the home with their boys to retrieve a game.
"The two children had gone in first and saw him and she said she just looked in, saw him and called (911)," Weaver said.
A propane heater had been torn from the wall in an apparent attempt to cause the mobile home to catch fire, authorities said.
Cave City police were immediately dispatched to secure the scene until county officers could arrive. The Cave City Fire Department was called to open doors and windows and ventilate the mobile home so paramedics and investigators could safely enter.
Investigators believe Furr was killed the day his body was discovered.
The Youngs - he is 42; she is 34 - were developed as suspects because they were the last people seen with Furr before his death, the sheriff said.
"They were the last ones seen with him the night we believe he was killed, and they were seen in Cave City with him early that morning," Weaver said.
Officers quickly learned the suspects had headed to Independence County because they were seen driving his stolen maroon Ford F-150 truck with a utility bed between Cave City and Batesville, and in Batesville. "Some of his (Furr's) friends saw his truck in Independence County," Weaver said. "Two sources said they saw it with two people in it and they knew they didn't belong with the truck. The description of them was fairly close."
Furr apparently died from multiple stab wounds. Weapons possibly used were found in the mobile home and sent to the crime lab, according to Sharp County Investigator John Qualls.
Qualls said a knife and screwdriver were found in the area of where the body was located.
"It was rumored there was a .410- and a 20 guage shotgun belonging to the boys, but they have not been found," Qualls said.
The Youngs were picked up Tuesday morning at a doctor's office in Batesville, where they had apparently gone with a friend.
Weaver said robbery appears to be the motive. "They took household items, firearms, along with the vehicle and working tools that he used in his heat and air business," Weaver said.
"We called (Independence County sheriff's) Capt. (Bill) Lindsey and asked them to start checking pawn shops for us. They (the Youngs) did pawn some things. That let us know they were still in the area."
Independence County officers cooperated by doing a lot of work on the case from their end, Weaver said.
"We were back and forth on the phone with them," he said. As a result, Sharp County officers were on hand to take custody of the Youngs shortly after their arrest by Independence County officers, he said. The two were then taken to the Sharp County jail.
Independence County authorities also located the stolen truck about 3 p.m. Tuesday and it was soon on its way to the Sharp County impound yard behind the sheriff's office in Ash Flat, arriving around 5:30 p.m.
Others may be questioned in connection with the case.
"There may be some people who assisted after the fact, but they may not have known what was going on," Weaver said. He said the Youngs have a history of criminal activity.
Lindsey said William Young has 127 past, or inactive, warrants in Independence County, ranging from felony theft, receiving stolen property, hot checks, failure to appear, failure to pay fines and probation violation. Leslie Young has 49 inactive warrants, mostly for hot checks, he said.
Lindsey said the stolen truck was recovered in the Hutchinson Mountain area near the intersection of Sumac and Camp Tahkodah Road, where the Youngs had "ditched" it.
From Hutchinson Mountain, the Youngs got a ride with Jimmy Doug Simpson to a local pawn shop. After pawning some tools, the Youngs asked Simpson for a ride to a doctor's office where they knew a friend had an appointment. Lindsey, who was calling pawn shops seeking information, learned the Youngs had been seen with Simpson, whom the pawn shop operator recognized.
Lindsey, armed with a description of Simpson's truck, put out a local BOLO (be on the lookout for) for the truck and Simpson was soon stopped near the former Reno's building south of town. Simpson told officers the Youngs were at the doctor's office.
Sgt. Randel Sterling and deputies Kirk Green, Colby Markum and Chris Little took the Youngs into custody there without incident. Two children - boys ages 6 and 9"? were with the Youngs when they were arrested, Lindsey said. The children were released to a relative.
Weaver said there are details he cannot release because of the possibility of jeopardizing the case. "We've done a ton of work that don't meet the eye yet," he said.
Weaver had high praise for every agency involved in the investigation. He said the earliest hours in a homicide investigation generally produce the greatest results and many officers worked all night Monday and all day Tuesday to take advantage of striking quickly.
"Everybody really pitched in," he said. "The state police assigned three investigators to work with us ... Independence County worked well with us in locking things up for us in that county."

Batesville Daily Guard-Record
January 7, 2005
ASH FLAT — Third Judicial District Prosecutor Henry Boyce filed capital murder charges against a Cave City couple Thursday in Sharp County Circuit Court in connection with the stabbing death of 38-year-old Stephen Furr, whose body was found Monday in his mobile home on Buck Lane east of Cave City.
Boyce has not yet said whether he will seek the death penalty against the couple, William Franklin Young Jr., 42, and Leslie A. Williams, 34, also known as Leslie A. Young. The couple is being held without bond after a first appearance before District Judge Mark Johnson.
Weapons apparently used in the stabbing — a blood-stained screwdriver and kitchen knife — were found underneath Furr’s body, which was in a chair, according to the information filed with the charges. Another large kitchen knife was found near a sink, where it appeared to have been cleaned.
The investigation began when Furr’s ex-wife, Devonda Furr, called 911 at 7:18 p.m. Monday and reported that her children had gone into Stephen Furr’s residence and found him apparently shot. She had taken the young boys to the mobile home to retrieve a game.
Responding officers found Furr’s body on the chair, to the left of the entryway. Propane gas fumes were coming from a ruptured gas line, so officers opened the doors and windows. The gas supply had to be shut off before LifeCare Ambulance personnel entered the building to check Furr for signs of life.
“Examination of the body of Stephen Furr revealed numerous stab/puncture wounds to the chest, arms and neck,” sheriff’s Detective Sgt. David Huffmaster wrote in the information. After the body was moved, Huffmaster wrote, “... two items were observed on the chair ... a flat-type screwdriver and Old Hickory kitchen knife. These items were blood-stained and were consistent with the type of items that would have caused the wounds sustained by Stephen Furr.
“... Inside the residence items were located that appeared to have been used or affected by someone other than Stephen Furr: these items included blood-stained paper towels, as if someone had cleaned their hands, the faucet on the kitchen sink which was blood-stained, as it appeared someone had attempted to wash blood off their hands, and a large kitchen knife which appeared to have been cleaned.
“While at the residence it was learned a truck belonging to Stephen Furr was missing ...”
Also missing from the residence were an eMachine desktop computer, speakers, a computer mouse and keyboard, an Afflone 64 processor, a Cyberhome Progressive scan DVD player, a microwave oven, a Sanyo television, a vacuum cleaner and a Sony PlayStation 2.
Those missing items had been seen the previous day by family members, Huffmaster said. Also taken were a 20-gauge shotgun, a .410-gauge shotgun and a .380 pistol.
A canister of Maxum brand pepper spray had also been stolen and the empty package the pepper spray had come in was found near the chair where Furr was found dead.
Sheriff Dale Weaver said Young and Williams were developed as suspects because they were the last people known to have been with Furr before his death. Two of Furr’s friends also reported seeing Young and Williams in Furr’s truck in Independence County.
Independence County officers arrested Young and Williams the following day after they pawned some tools that Furr had used in his heat and air business. The stolen truck was later located in the Hutchinson Mountain area. Huffmaster said Williams had a canister of Maxum brand pepper spray when she was arrested.
Jail matron Elaine Moody also reported that Williams had what appeared to be a drop of blood on the right side of her nose, apparent blood smears on her arms and what appeared to be bloodstains on her pants, shoes and socks.
When interviewed, Williams told officers, “I didn’t do anything. It wasn’t me.” When asked what her husband did, Williams told authorities she needed a lawyer and the interview was ended.
Young, in an interview, told officers he and Williams drank beer with Furr at another person’s house, then in the early morning hours went with Furr to his house. He said he was working on Furr’s computer when Furr “started messing with his wife Leslie.”
According to Young, when he attempted to intervene, Furr swung at him with a knife, cutting his (Young’s) hand.
“William stated he picked up something that was leaning against the wall and hit him (Steve) with something like a pipe, at which time Steve dropped the knife,” Huffmaster wrote in the information. “William then stated that he picked up the knife and stabbed him a couple of times around the shoulder. William went on to state it seemed like it wasn’t doing any good, and ‘I must have picked up the screwdriver and stabbed him (Steve) with it, and he fell back into the chair.’
“... William further stated that he took some of Steve’s things out of the house, and pawned them.”
Authorities said a bag of dog or cat food at Furr’s house had been set afire near the door, but was only partially burned. During the interview, Young at first denied setting the bag on fire but later admitted that he did. He denied attempting to flood the house with gas from the stove, saying he tried to rip the stove off the wall to take it with them.
The items taken from the house were recovered from the truck. “A portion of these items had what appeared to be blood on them,” Huffmaster said. “Eight total items were bloodstained and were swabbed for blood evidence.”
Young and Williams apparently picked up their children from their Curia Creek Apartments residence after the crime and took them to Batesville, where they were left with a friend while the couple pawned the tools and hid the stolen truck.

Batesville Daily Guard-Record
January 7, 2005
NASHVILLE — When Terry Curry learned Steven Furr of Cave City was a victim of a murder it brought back a lot of memories — unpleasant ones.
In 1991 Howard County authorities were called to investigate a Christmas day homicide.
That case involved Furr, his future wife Devonda and her then-husband Rodney Curry. Furr claimed 29-year-old Rodney Curry had threatened him with a knife and that he shot him in self-defense.
This week, authorities in Sharp County found Furr dead of multiple stab wounds.
Furr was discovered about 7:18 p.m. Monday when his ex-wife, Devonda Furr, went to the home with their boys to retrieve a game. Two people were taken into custody the following day and have been charged with capital murder. Their story has some of the same similarities as the one Furr told 15 years ago — that Furr threatened them with a knife.
Terry Curry and brother Richard say after 15 years they have “closure.”
According to information provided from the Nashville News, police said Furr claimed Curry had come at him with a knife and he shot him. He was initially charged with second-degree murder, and a grand jury convened nine months later and reduced the charge to manslaughter.
At the trial, the state, represented by Prosecutor Jim Bob Steel and Deputy James Graves, was limited to circumstantial evidence contained in a statement that Curry had threatened to kill the man who stole his 29-year-old wife.
During the time of the shooting Furr told authorities he had not been drinking, while Curry had a blood count of .17, twice the legal limit. Furr testified, saying he knew the relationship between him and Curry’s wife was “wrong.”
The jury deliberated for approximately three hours before returning with a guilty verdict. In February 1993, Furr received the minimum sentence of three years in the Arkansas Department of Correction.
Richard Curry said he was present during the entire trial and feels justice was not served. Both Currys say they still have a lot of unanswered questions.
“As soon as I learned what happened I started calling around and asking questions,” Terry Curry said.
“Justice has been very served. What goes around comes around,” Richard Curry said.

Birth	9 Jul 1967
Death	2 Jan 2006	Cave City, Sharp County, AR
Marriage		Devonda Kay BILLINGS
Divorce		Devonda Kay BILLINGS
Soc Sec No		429-49-7564
Burial		County Line Cemetery, Nashville, Howard County, AR

Spouse	Devonda Kay BILLINGS (1965 - 2015)
Child	Living
Child	Living

Father	Gary Monroe FURR (1943 - 2012)
Mother	Living
Sibling	Living
Sibling	Living
Sibling	Living

Notes