Vernon County man wanted for his mother’s murder found dead in Arkansas

VERNON COUNTY, Mo. – An Arkansas resident finds the body of Aaron Goodwin, the sole suspect in his mother’s murder in southwest Missouri.

According to the Vernon County, Missouri Sheriff’s Office, Aaron’s body was in a wooded area outside of Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Nearly five months ago, authorities named him the sole suspect in the murder of his mother, Connie Goodwin. The prosecutor’s office also filed a charge of Abandonment of a Corpse.

On October 28, 2020, law enforcement found Connie’s decapitated body in her Vernon County home. The Sheriff’s Office says the Hot Springs Police Department found her head in the back of a truck later that day. (Previous story: Vernon County homicide victim identified, son wanted)

Investigators, based on information received, believed Aaron may have committed suicide in a wooded area. But until they found him, authorities considered him at large.

“Because his body had not been found, we continued to follow up on leads from Kansas and Missouri and requested the assistance of a federal agency in searching for him,” says Vernon County Sheriff Jason Mosher.

Investigators are still trying to piece together what may have caused Aaron to commit such a crime.

Arkansas governor signs near-total abortion ban into law

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday signed into law legislation banning nearly all abortions in the state. Supporters hope the measure will force the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit its landmark Roe v. Wade decision but opponents vow to block before it takes effect later this year.

The Republican governor had expressed reservations about the bill, which only allows the procedure to save the life of the mother and does not provide exceptions for those impregnated by rape or incest. Arkansas is one of at least 14 states where legislators have proposed outright abortion bans this year.

Hutchinson said he was signing the bill because of its “overwhelming legislative support and my sincere and long-held pro-life convictions.”

The bans were pushed by Republicans who want to force the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide. Conservatives believe the court is more open to striking down the decision following former President Donald Trump’s three appointments to the court.

Hutchinson has signed several major abortion restrictions into law since taking office in 2015, but he had voiced concerns that this bill directly challenges Roe and about the lack of rape and incest exceptions.

“(The ban) is in contradiction of binding precedents of the U.S. Supreme Court, but it is the intent of the legislation to set the stage for the Supreme Court overturning current case law,” he said in a statement released by his office. “I would have preferred the legislation to include the exceptions for rape and incest, which has been my consistent view, and such exceptions would increase the chances for a review by the U.S. Supreme Court.”

The legislation won’t take effect until 90 days after the majority-Republican Legislature adjourns this year’s session. That means it can’t be enforced until this summer at the earliest. Abortion rights supporters said they plan to challenge the ban in court before then.