Murder suspect held without bond following his extradition

Evin Davis

Davis, 34, also known as Charles Hedstrom, allegedly killed Helmlinger for his identity with a gunshot wound to the head.

He reportedly worked with Helmlinger at the Tyson Foods plant in Green Forest. The two reportedly spent time together, and Davis is accused of burying his co-worker's body in a shallow grave behind the trailer park where he lived with his wife Melissa Davis, who is also charged as an accessory in the slaying.

Davis went before Circuit Judge Kent Crow late Monday for a bond hearing and was ordered held without bond.

According to Det. Robert Bartos, with the Berryville Police Department, Davis was considered a flight risk because he went on the run initially and because he's facing a capital murder charge with the potential for the death penalty.

In a press release from the BPD, Bartos said Helmlinger had been reported missing by family members Oct. 4. On Oct. 18, his body was located in a shallow grave in a field behind Glen Echo Trailer Park in Berryville and the state medical examiner's office determined the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.

Melissa Davis

According to the release, the name Charles Hedstrom came up during the investigation. Hedstrom worked with Helmlinger at Tyson Foods in Green Forest. Co-workers stated the two spent time together at work and Hedstrom packed up in the middle of the night and left town the same night the grave was found.

The release also states that witnesses said they had seen Hedstrom in the area where the grave was found with a shovel.

Berryville police, in the release, say they learned that Hedstrom's real name was Evin Davis. He was wanted by Missouri authorities, and he apparently changed his name and fled Missouri.

The release further stated that police caught up with his wife, Melissa Davis, when she was returning to Berryville to pick up her last paycheck. She refused to tell officers the location of her husband and was charged with hindering apprehension.

A warrant for Evin Davis was issued, authorities say, and, after he spoke to officers on the phone, he turned himself in to the McAllen Police Department in south Texas, near the Mexican boarder.

Bartos said officers from the Berryville Police Department traveled to south Texas and extradited Davis back to Arkansas to face charges.

Melissa Davis, 37, who reportedly worked as a custodian at Berryville Schools, was additionally charged with capital murder by accessory. She remains jailed at the Carroll County Detention Center on a $1 million bond.

Both Melissa and Evin Davis are scheduled to be arraigned in court on Nov. 23.

Bartos said, "The Berryville Police Department wants to thank the community for its involvement in helping with the investigation."

That investigation began with the discovery of the shallow grave by a citizen out walking in the woods.

A separate investigation had been under way by county investigators who were looking into Helmlinger's disappearance after his mother reported him missing.

Helmlinger, according to a friend, was always introspective with a wry, surprising sense of humor. He suffered from a very mild form of autism, Asperger's Syndrome, and as a result, it was easy to assume he was handicapped when he actually was brilliant, just socially challenged. He took his Christianity very seriously, and he was a unique, colorful member of the community who will be missed.

Funeral services were held for the young man on Oct. 26 at the Forerunner House of Prayer in Green Forest.