Murder in the Heartland is in the rural town of Higginson, Arkansas, to investigate the murder of Police Officer Danny Longstreet, who was shot dead in his patrol car by teenage thug Timothy Lee Askins in 1997.
Longstreet was one of only two cops in this quiet town in White County to the southeast of Searcy, and the murder of the father of three daughters sent shockwaves through the tight-knit community.
The 39-year-old veteran of Operation Desert Storm was sat in his patrol car in a vacant parking lot in the middle of the night when Askins shot him through the passenger window. Longstreet was hit multiple times and died at the scene.
The shots were heard by a nearby couple who approached the patrol car intending to alert the officer to the gunfire; however, they were stunned to find that Longstreet had actually been the victim.
Timothy Askins killed Longstreet to silence him in fraud case
The killer was 17-year-old Timothy Askins, and he had resorted to violence in an attempt to silence Longstreet in an upcoming insurance fraud case. The murderer was aided in the crime by his 18-year-old sister, Kristie Fulgham, and her 17-year-old husband, Jess Fulgham.
In September 1997, Askins surprised many by pleading guilty at a preliminary arraignment, causing him to be immediately and automatically sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Jess Fulgham had taken Askins to the crime scene and was subsequently charged with capital murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison. The pregnant Kristie Fulgham pleaded guilty to hindering her brother’s apprehension and was sentenced to 6 years.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelMore from Murder in the Heartland
Follow the links to read about more murders investigated in the heartland of America.
Daniel Mayo and Timmie Lee Bain were two farmhands and roommates in DeKalb County, Tennessee, when one night, Mayo disappeared without a trace. An eyewitness later came forward to say the two men had been having a drunken argument, which ended with Bain shooting Mayo in the face with a shotgun.
Delores “Dianne” Watts and her daughter, Jessica Watts, and Jessica’s friend, Chelsie Smith, were brutally murdered in their McMinnville, Tennessee home. The killer was Dianne’s boyfriend, Raymond “Doug” Myers, and he had the help of his friend Johnny Lewis and his mother and brother.
Murder in the Heartland airs at 10/9c on Investigation Discovery.