A Central Arkansas man has been sentenced to die after being found guilty of strangling his girlfriend in 2016. The victim, Heather Stubbs was 41 years-old.
The Capital Murder trial of Scotty Ray Gardner took only two days. The jury took only 12 minutes to determine his guilt, and one hour to sentence him to death.
"This is a big relief. Now all of her family and myself can have justice,” said Stubbs’ daughter, Victoria Smith, outside of the courthouse Wednesday.
It's been a long road to justice for her family, since Stubbs was killed by her boyfriend, 57 year-old Scotty Ray Gardner. Stubbs was found face-down and unconscious at the Days Inn in Conway on March 6, 2016. She later died as a result of her injuries.
The cause of death: strangulation.
Faulkner County Prosecutor, Carol Crews told a jury of seven men and eight women Gardner got angry with Stubbs and strangled her for four minutes with a curling iron cord.
In open court, she played part of Gardner's confession, where he admitted to being angry about his girlfriend going to prosecutors for an order of protection. Gardner had spent 23 years in prison before meeting Stubbs and confessed he didn't want to go back.
"We felt from day one he was deserving of the ultimate punishment for the ultimate crime,” Crews told said in her office, once the sentence was read.
Ultimately, Stubbs dropped the charges against Gardner and went back to him.
"Never get wrapped up in a domestic violence relationship. You never know where it will end up. Leave as soon as you can,” Smith said, explaining her mother's story should yield pause to all women.
Wednesday, the jury heard from Gardner's ex-wife, who showed them bullet fragments still visible in her hand, after Gardner shot her seven times back in 1990, while she was six months pregnant with his son. An hour later they came back with the death sentence.
"It's a quick verdict, but it was powerful and swift. We appreciate that,” Crews said, explaining this is the first death penalty case in that county in nearly 15 years.
Wednesday's sentencing was a litmus test of sorts, to gauge the willingness of a Faulkner County jury to issue a death sentence in the future.
"Today's verdict shows that a Faulkner County jury is willing to walk through the difficult steps of coming back with the death verdict, so that's something we will take into consideration," said Crews.
While the Stubbs family now has justice, Wednesday's sentencing was far from bringing closure.
"We miss her laugh, her contagious laugh she always had. We miss her cooking. We miss her smile, her hugs, and her kisses,” Smith said finally.
The family is now awaiting an execution date for Gardner.
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