On Oct. 28, 2020, at approximately 12:35 p.m., Hot Springs Police Department (HSPD) officers responded to 1544 Malvern Avenue in Hot Springs in reference to a suspicious package. Officers discovered partial human remains inside of a trash bag in the back of a pickup truck and the owner of the pickup truck was subsequently interviewed. During the investigation, it was learned that the trash bag was placed into the back of the truck at a local hotel the night before. The remains were later determined to be connected to a homicide in Deerfield, Missouri. The HSPD then assisted the Missouri Highway Patrol and the Vernon County Missouri Sheriff’s Department in their investigation. Aaron Goodwin was later determined to be a suspect in the Missouri homicide, and he was featured on the HSPD's social media sites as a “Wanted Person.”
On March 6, 2021, the HSPD responded to a wooded area near the 300 block of Columbia Hills Street in reference to human remains being discovered by hikers in the area. The body was subsequently sent to the Arkansas State Crime lab for examination and identification. On March 11, HSPD was notified that the deceased person was confirmed to be Aaron Enoch Goodwin, 38, of Deerfield, Missouri. His manner of death was ruled to be suicide.
For further information about this case, please contact the Vernon County Missouri Sheriff’s Department.
