LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Editor's note: The video shown above is from March 2018.
According to court records, a Little Rock man pleaded guilty to the stabbing death of his wife and attempted murder of their son in 2018.
On Thursday, Jan. 9, Doyle Ashcraft pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder and one count of criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder, according to Pulaski County Circuit documents.
He was was sentenced to 70 years in prison.
On March 26, 2018, Ashcraft's son said he woke up to smoke in the house on Redleaf Circle and tried to wake up his parents. After failed attempts to wake them, he broke a window and ran to a neighbor’s house for help.
When police and firefighters arrived, they found Ashcraft's wife's body inside the residence with apparent stabbing injuries.
Ashcraft was taken into custody and interviewed by detectives.
In an arrest affidavit, Ashcraft told police that there was a hunting knife and lighter fluid in the garage, but officers on scene did not find the knife. Instead, the knife's sheath was found hidden in a different room and the empty lighter fluid container was located inside the home.
During the investigation at the house, police discovered that several smoke detectors were "purposefully removed from their mounts." Ashcraft's son stated he said his father "testing and checking" the smoke detectors.