Authorities are awaiting autopsy results after two people were found dead inside a residence Saturday morning in Pine Bluff.
According to the Pine Bluff Police Department, officers responded to a welfare check around 3 a.m. on Dec. 20 at a home in the 1400 block of West 31st Avenue. Upon arrival, officers discovered the bodies of a man and a woman inside the residence.
Jefferson County Coroner Chad Kelley identified the victims as Tekeilah Johnson, 43, and Joseph Thomas, 40, to Deltaplex News.
A man at the residence told police he discovered the bodies after arriving at the home. He identified the woman as his cousin and said the male victim was unknown to him. He also told officers that Johnson was a known user of narcotics, specifically drugs consumed using a glass pipe.
Police said the deaths are believed to be the result of drug overdoses, though the investigation remains ongoing. No official cause or manner of death has been determined.
Kelley said both bodies were transported to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory on Monday for autopsies, which will determine the cause and manner of death.
Anyone with information related to the incident is urged to contact the Pine Bluff Police Department at (870) 541-5300 or the Detective Division at (870) 730-2090. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling (870) 730-2106 or by visiting www.pbpd.org.
