On the morning of October 16, 2022, the body of 27-year-old Dalton Smith was found in a downtown alley behind a residence on South Grand Street in Stuttgart, Arkansas. Officers who arrived shortly after 9 a.m. pronounced him dead; investigators on scene preliminarily believed he had been shot. The Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division took the lead and sent Smith’s body to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory for an official determination of cause and manner of death.

Dalton was born in Hot Springs and worked at a local Burger King. Friends and family remember him for his kind nature, an infectious smile, and interests that included skateboarding, music, time on the water and duck hunting. The killing left his parents, grandparents and a large circle of loved ones grieving.

An arrest was made on January 8, 2023, when Joe Graylan Minter Jr. was taken into custody and charged with capital murder; later court filings added a charge of soliciting capital murder, alleging an attempt to hire someone to kill a witness. Legal proceedings were ongoing into the summer of 2024, including a court-ordered evaluation of Minter’s mental fitness and pretrial hearings.

If anyone saw or heard anything in the South Grand Street area on the night before or the morning of October 16, 2022, please come forward with information.