Christopher Lee Jennings, 20, of Hot Springs, Arkansas, was fatally shot on July 28, 2020. He was not reported missing until August 12, and two days later his body was found in a shallow grave in Pope County. The Arkansas State Crime Lab confirmed his identity on August 17, and the Hot Springs Police Department opened a homicide investigation.

Court documents say a group of teenagers was with Jennings when a 17-year-old reportedly was handling a firearm that discharged, causing the fatal wound. The documents allege the group wrapped his body in plastic, transported him to Pope County, and buried him. Five people were arrested: John Liapis, 18; Dakota White, 18; Logan Snyder, 19; Donald Ritchey, 19; and the 17-year-old, who was charged as an adult. Charges included manslaughter, tampering with physical evidence, abuse of a corpse, theft by receiving of a firearm, aggravated assault, and terroristic threatening.

All five defendants had been convicted and sentenced by October 2022, with the final defendant receiving a seven-year term after a guilty plea in Garland County Circuit Court. Did anyone in the Hot Springs area see or hear anything about Jennings or the group in late July 2020?