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Man Wanted For Murder Kills Self

Published Wednesday, May 14, 1997 in the Gurdon Times

A Georgia murder suspect killed himself in Prescott Monday, May 5.

According to the Arkansas State Police, Donald Richard Hooper, 50, of Waynesboro, Ga., stabbed himself while being followed by a state trooper and died after pulling off Interstate 30 at Prescott.

He was airlifted to a Texarkana hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Hooper was wanted for allegedly beating his ex-girlfriend to death with a baseball bat and beating and stabbing her male companion.

He was driving the beaten man's car at the time he committed suicide.

Hooper was spotted at a rest stop near Gurdon by a Clark County Sheriff's deputy, who ran a check on the license plate.

The check showed the car having been stolen. The deputy then followed the vehicle into Dallas County, where ASP Trooper Darren Neal stopped it.

In a memo to ASP Capt. Ron Stovall, commander of Troop G in Hope, Neal responded to the deputy's request and was waiting on the north shoulder of the westbound entrance ramp at the 44-mile marker on I-30.

When the suspect's car passed Neal, he pulled onto the interstate behind it.

The trooper radioed Clark County officials saying the driver was doing something with his hands.

As the car pulled off to stop, Neal spoke to the driver using the patrol car's public address system.

Hooper got out of the car and followed Neal's verbal commands, when the officer noticed a large amount of blood on the suspect's shirt.

When Neal asked Hooper if he'd been shot, the suspect collapsed face-down. He had a 10-inch knife protruding from his chest.

Hooper had been accused of beating Nell Ray, 49, of Augusta, Ga., his ex-girlfriend, to death on April 19. He was also accused of beating and stabbing James Burke, 39, of Augusta, and stealing Burke's car, authorities said.


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