(OCTOBER 20, 2020)
Special Agents of the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division are continuing their work today assisting Sharp County sheriff’s deputies in developing leads and collecting evidence connected to the apparent murders of two women and the assault on a third. Officers of the Cherokee Village and Highland Police Departments have also joined the investigations.
Agents were called to 28 Warpath Drive in Cherokee Village before noon yesterday (Monday, October 19th) where the body of Hayleigh Gruger, 23, was discovered by local authorities inside the victim’s home.
During the course of processing the Warpath Street crime scene, state police CID special agents were sent to a second crime scene at 101 FM Road in Highland, southeast of Cherokee Village.
Debra Compton, 41, was transported from the Highland address to an area hospital where she is being treated for a stab wound sustained while she was in a vehicle with two men traveling in the area. One of the men fled the crime scene and was later taken into custody by state police special agents. The 24 year old man is considered a suspect in the attack on Compton and the deaths of Gruger and a third woman.
Late yesterday Sharp County deputies and state police special agents located the body of Linda Janny, 72, in her home at 1 Lakeshore Drive, Cherokee Village.
The bodies of Gruger and Janny have been transported to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory where autopsy examinations have begun to determine when the deaths occurred and each victim’s manner and cause of death. Information related to any criminal charges that may be filed against the lone suspect will be released by the Sharp County Sheriff’s Department.