Woman could’ve been dead for 2+ years, police say

TEXARKANA, Ark. (KSLA) — A woman whose body was found wrapped in plastic in her home in Texarkana, Ark., could have been deceased for more than two years, investigators say.

The discovery was made Thursday in the 1200 block of Martha Street.

Police believe the woman is 40-year-old Christy Himes.

"The Arkansas Adult Protective Services contacted us and asked us to go and conduct a welfare check on that subject," police Lt. Zachary White said.

The investigation began with the arrest of Himes’ 63-year-old brother, Tony Ken Hooker, on an unrelated warrant.

He lived next door and acted as her caregiver.

Hooker was booked into the Miller County Jail at 3:43 p.m. Wednesday, booking records show.

"The body was severely decomposed. And we believe she may have been in there for up to two years, possibly a little longer,” White said.

Hooker and others apparently knew Himes was dead inside the house, police say.

It is too early to know whether she died of natural causes, investigators say.

And authorities are trying to determine why they were not notified of her death.

Her body has been sent to the Arkansas crime lab in Little Rock for an autopsy.

Authorities hope that will help answer those and other questions.

“It is too early to say what charges will come out of this,” White said. “It all depends on what information we receive from the autopsy results.”

Depending upon what’s learned, authorities say, those charges could range from abuse of a corpse to murder.

“I just happened to come home, and it was surprising to me this was going on,” Martha Street resident Winfred Kimble said of the discovery Thursday.

“I might have seen her a couple times,” said Kimble, who lives across the street from Himes’ and Hooker’s houses.

“Yeah, there were people in and out, you know. It is not like I feel like they were neglecting nobody or nothing like that,” she continued.

“I wouldn’t think they would do nothing that would harm nobody because they seem to be pretty nice people.”

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