True Crime Chronicles: Yell County murders in 2017 sent perpetrator to life in prison without possibility of parole

On May 11, 2017, Yell County, Arkansas, was rocked by a triple homicide that left a sheriff’s deputy, a grandmother, and her teenage granddaughter dead

. The suspect, James Arthur Bowden, 42, surrendered after a standoff and later pleaded guilty, receiving a life sentence without parole. T

Around 10 a.m. on th fateful day, Yell County Sheriff’s Deputy Lt. Kevin Mainhart, 46, pulled over a vehicle on Arkansas Highway 27 near Slo Fork Road.

Mainhart, a 25-year law enforcement veteran, linked the car to a domestic disturbance call at 12084 Gum Springs Road.

The driver, James Bowden, shot and killed Mainhart during the stop.

Earlier that morning, Bowden had gone to the Gum Springs Road home, where he fatally shot Rita Miller, 61, and her granddaughter Ciera Miller, 17.

/+Rita, who had cancer and used a wheelchair, and Ciera, shot once in the chest, were found dead outside the house.

The victims were the mother and daughter of Bowden’s ex-girlfriend, Haley McHam, 31.

After the shootings, Bowden returned to the Gum Springs Road house and held McHam hostage. Arkansas State Police and other agencies surrounded the property, leading to a five-to-seven-hour standoff.

Bowden’s sister, Julie Bowden Inmon, helped police by speaking to him by phone. She played a recorded message from their father, urging Bowden to surrender. McHam escaped when Bowden briefly left her side, and he surrendered shortly after.

Julie later tolda television station her brother feared being shot and was reluctant to come out. She said their family was “very sorry” for the victims’ families and never expected Bowden, a father of three, to commit such a crime.

McHam told reporters she had ended her nine-year relationship with Bowden due to his abusive behavior. Bowden blamed her for the killings, saying her mother and daughter would be alive if she had stayed with him. The breakup appeared to trigger his violent outburst.

On May 15, 2017, Bowden pleaded not guilty to three counts of capital murder. A judge set no bond and issued a gag order.

The trial was scheduled for July 27, 2017, but on June 23, Bowden pleaded guilty to all charges in a plea deal to avoid the death penalty. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

In court, Bowden said, “I’m really sorry about what happened. I can’t be forgiven, so I won’t ask.”

McHam spoke about losing her mother and daughter. Rita’s son, Chris Miller, and another family member, David Miller, condemned Bowden.

Mainhart’s family, via a prosecutor’s statement, said they preferred the death penalty but accepted the sentence to avoid appeals.

Bowden, now 50, is serving his sentence in an Arkansas prison.