HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. —A woman says her brother-in-law was shot and killed at a Helena-West Helena motel Sunday — and she says this isn’t the first relative shot at the same motel.
Shirley Key-Garner said her brother-in-law, Frank Hampton, was shot and killed at the Sands Motel on Highway 49.
“He was murdered Sunday morning. I didn’t hear about it until Sunday afternoon,” she said. “He was murdered by some addicts. They thought they were robbing him for drug money.”
Helena-West Helena police have yet to release any details.
An employee at the motel told us they gave detectives all the evidence they had.
“I know for a fact they have cameras,” Key-Garner said.
She said she knows because in 2015, her two loved ones were shot at the same motel.
Police released security footage right after, which led to a quick arrest.
Key-Garner wants to know why police aren’t taking those same steps now.
“One of the people seen coming out of the room was seen this morning walking down the street where I stay,” she told WREG.
She says her brother-in-law worked at Walmart and was a loving father who cared about his community.
“I can tell you why he was there. I just know he was off work, because he recently had surgery and was recovering,” she said.
Key-Garner says now, her family feels hopeless.
“There is no reason we should have a hotel that someone is constantly getting robbed and murdered at,” she said.
We reached out to investigators, the police chief and the mayor several times to find out what exactly happened.
No one has returned our calls.
