By Ray King
The Arkansas Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld the conviction and 50-year prison sentence of a Pine Bluff man convicted of two counts of first-degree battery in 2019.
Following a jury trial, Eddie Dale King, 37, was convicted in the October 9, 2018 attack on Carol and Chester Deubel and Circuit Judge Alex Guynn sentenced King to 25-years on each count, with the sentences to run consecutively or one after the other.
On appeal, King contended that the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction.
Testimony at the trial showed that the Deubel’s moved from Arizona to Arkansas to retire and on the date of the attack, King, who was a handyman came to their home where he first attacked Carol, then Chester when he came to Carol’s aid.
Both were hit in the head with a hammer and Chester required emergency surgery including surgery to remove a piece of skull that had lodged in his brain due to the attack. Carol did not require emergency surgery but suffered four head wounds, two broken fingers, six broken ribs, and significant swelling of her hand.
In his appeal, King contended that in order to be convicted of first-degree battery, the state had to prove that his actions were performed “under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life” and the state failed to prove that.
Writing for the Appeals Court, Judge Raymond Abramson said King’s actions including striking both Carol and Chester in the head with a hammer “created a risk of death clearly distinguishable from the non-life threatening conduct of burning a young child’s hands while washing them with scalding water.”
He went on to say that the jury was free to believe the state’s testimony rather than that of King who said he did not intend to hurt them.
King is serving his sentence at the Cummins Unit and will be eligible to apply for parole in 2032.
