A Jasper County jury sentenced a man who was found covered with blood at the scene of a fatal stabbing incident to life in prison Thursday, according to the Jasper County District Clerk’s Office.
Earlier Thursday, the jury convicted Royce Edward Larkin, 56, of Jasper, of first-degree murder.
According to police, Larkin was covered in blood at the scene where 61-year-old Judy McKinney Arnold was found with multiple stab wounds inside a car at the Rodeway Hotel on Sept. 11, 2019.
Jasper police reported they were dispatched to the hotel after the department received a 911 call from a man who told them they were needed but would not specify why or give his identity.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found Larkin standing on a breezeway on the west side of the motel. According to Jasper police, he put his hands up and turned around voluntarily for the officers.
Jasper police reported Larkin also told the officers the blood on him was not his but of the victim, later identified as Arnold, who officers found sitting in the driver’s seat of a 2019 Chrysler 300.
EMTs arrived at the scene a short time later and found that Arnold was unresponsive. Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace Jimmy Miller pronounced Arnold dead at the scene.
In a press release, Jasper police said the Jefferson County Medical Examiner Office reported the multiple stab wounds had punctured Arnold’s lungs, resulting in her death.
“The victim and suspect had been in a dating relationship for approximately 21 years but when asked, the suspect would not give any details of the incident or to the motive,” the press release stated.
https://www.kltv.com/2022/04/28/jasper-man-found-covered-blood-fatal-stabbing-scene-gets-life/