Curtis Wayne Urquhart Sr., 57, was found dead in a roadside ditch off Highway 79 and Gingrich Road in Stuttgart, Arkansas, on December 11, 2017. He was a Black/African American man and died of a gunshot wound to the head.

Investigators identified 22-year-old Kirkland Warren of Pine Bluff as a suspect. Warren reportedly admitted to shooting Urquhart while they were together in a vehicle; he was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. The Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division led the homicide investigation. Warren was released on $250,000 bond and his Arkansas trial was scheduled for December 2022 but delayed at the defense’s request. Allegations of judicial bias tied to Warren’s father, a judge in Pine Bluff, have been raised during the proceedings.

Many questions remain about the circumstances that led to Urquhart’s death and the status of the case; anyone with information about the shooting or the events of December 2017 is asked to come forward.