AR - Dexter Williams, 24, found dead in hot tub with TV weatherman, 5 Sept 2011

[Steely Dan]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/09/08/arkansas.meteorologist.death/index.html?iref=NS1

Arkansas man found dead in tub 'easily influenced,' family says
From Emanuella Grinberg, CNN
September 9, 2011 6:01 a.m. EDT

(CNN) -- The family of a man whose lifeless, naked body -- wearing what appeared to be a dog collar -- was found in a hot tub next to a sleeping weatherman described him Thursday as someone who was "easily influenced."

"Dex had a very loving but trusting heart," the family of victim Dexter Paul Williams, 24, said in a statement released by their lawyer, Thomas Nichols. "Anyone who knew him would agree that he was easily influenced."...

 

[Hopeful One]

HastingsChi, you are the newbie who just keeps on giving!

With only 15 posts so far you have continued to keep me eagerly awaiting the next interesting bit of info you'll bring to us.

Inmate Sex with Police Chief's Wife? Really? :sick:

I, for one, am very thankful that you finally decided to join in the discussions here at WS!! You are definitely an asset!

 

[krimekat]

Not to get us off topic but you asked, so here it is: Several Inmates Orgy With Police Chief's Wife

Respectfully snipped . . . HastingsChi: this story is CRAZY & I cannot believe the convicted will be out of prison so soon! I have not located a thread for this crime at WS, but I believe there should be one. Corruption runs amuck in these small communities (southern IL, too).

Prayers out to Dexter's family & hope LE can determine what happened.

 

[HastingsChi]

Good morning all!

Quick Question: Is anyone a subscriber to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette or ArkansasOnline.com?

Dexter Williams' obituary was published this morning and I was hoping to read it and share it with everyone here but those vultures at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette think it is appropriate to make non-subscribes pay to read people's obituaries; they disgust me...

If anyone might obtain the obit and share it here, I think we'd all greatly appreciate it.

 

[Joe Friday]

Here is the latest development in the death of Dexter Williams from KATV (ABC affiliate in Little Rock):
Attorney: Ark. weatherman innocent in tub death

An attorney for the Arkansas meteorologist found sleeping in a hot tub with a dead man says no foul play was involved.

Little Rock-based lawyer Mark Hampton said Thursday that KARK meteorologist Brett Cummins is innocent.

Full story (which doesn't mention any additional important info) can be found here.

What were you expecting the attorney for Mr. Cummins to say? That he is guilty of a crime and foul play was involved.

Until the investigation is completed and LE announces that there was no crime committed I wouldn't take anything Mark Hampton says to heart. In my eyes Mr. Hampton is doing damage control for his client.


I think we might see charges related to the supplying of illegal drugs to Mr. Williams eventually be brought against possibly both Mr. Cummins and Mr Barbour in this case. That charge relating to the death of an individual can be a very serious charge.

JMO

 

[tezi]

What were you expecting the attorney for Mr. Cummins to say? That he is guilty of a crime and foul play was involved.

Until the investigation is completed and LE announces that there was no crime committed I wouldn't take anything Mark Hampton says to heart. In my eyes Mr. Hampton is doing damage control for his client.


I think we might see charges related to the supplying of illegal drugs to Mr. Williams eventually be brought against possibly both Mr. Cummins and Mr Barbour in this case. That charge relating to the death of an individual can be a very serious charge.

JMO

RBBM: I think that you are right. I think that they may also face a tampering with evidence charge also, due to the fact that the living room was cleaned. Who knows what else was "cleaned" and/or removed from the scene of the crime?

HastingsChi: I will see if my friend will let me use her log-in info for the Democrat-Gazette site, and if she will, I will post a link to Dexter's obit. It will be later on today before I can talk to her though.

Steely: Thanks for posting the link from CNN.

I think we can all safely assume that BC no longer has a job at KARK, and that's too bad because he was really good at his job.

JMO, IMO, MOO, and all other disclaimers.

 

[Nana46]

If you type in D. Williams name and Little Rock,Ar obits, it will bring it up and give you the name of the funeral home. From there you can access the write up,HTH

 

[tezi]

If you type in D. Williams name and Little Rock,Ar obits, it will bring it up and give you the name of the funeral home. From there you can access the write up,HTH

Thanks so much Nana46. I haven't been able to get in touch with my friend yet to get her log in info for the Dem-Gazette.

 

[HastingsChi]

What were you expecting the attorney for Mr. Cummins to say? That he is guilty of a crime and foul play was involved.

Until the investigation is completed and LE announces that there was no crime committed I wouldn't take anything Mark Hampton says to heart. In my eyes Mr. Hampton is doing damage control for his client.


I think we might see charges related to the supplying of illegal drugs to Mr. Williams eventually be brought against possibly both Mr. Cummins and Mr Barbour in this case. That charge relating to the death of an individual can be a very serious charge.

JMO

Joe Friday: Thanks for your thoughts; I tend to agree that the odds are a little greater than 50/50 that LE will announce no intentional act was committed (homicide, premeditated homicide) resulting in Dexter Williams' death. I do think that, given all the questions and odd/suspicious issues resulting in the death of Williams, there is a higher probability on lesser charges being filed (whether they be manslaughter, drug charges, tampering with a crime scene; who knows...). Am I correct that the penalties for a crime involving crystal meth are harsher than those involving cocaine??

Noting that the Williams' family statement was issued by their lawyer I would be surprised if there is not a wrongful death suit against Cummins and Barbour.

Either way, I could not imagine what Dexter Williams' family and friends must be going through right now. It is bad enough to lose someone you love, it must be unbearable to have your loved ones death serving as a punchline throughout the nation. Definitely keeping them in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[HastingsChi]

If you type in D. Williams name and Little Rock,Ar obits, it will bring it up and give you the name of the funeral home. From there you can access the write up,HTH

Thank you so much Nana46!

Here is the link to the Caruth-Hale Funeral Home's obituary and guestbook for:

Dexter Paul Williams, 24, of Hot Springs, formerly of Conway, departed this life Monday, September 5, 2011. He was born July 5, 1987 and was a 2006 graduate of Conway High school.

He is survived by his parents Ed and Carol Williams of Mountain Pine, AR; two brothers Eddie (Trista) Williams and John Williams of Amarillo, TX; grandparents Sam and Mamie Williams of Scott, AR; niece Tavianna Williams; three nephews Jayden Williams, Brycen Williams, and Jacob Williams; aunt Tina Miller of Newport News, VA, and a host of loving family and friends.

Visitation will be 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Sunday at Caruth-Hale Funeral Home.

Service will follow at 12:00 p.m. with Stacy Sanders officiating.

 

[HastingsChi]

I just re-watched [video=facebook;10150282426858807]https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150282426858807[/video] (uploaded @ 4:46pm & confirmed to be recorded that day).

Is anyone else as disturbed, shocked, perplexed as I am that he was able to pull off a happy, carefree on-camera performance less than 8 hours after the incident?
What type of personality trait allows one to do this? [IMO: His media training skills would not be enough to compensate given the situation]

Is there a possible explanation for Cummins fleeing the scene of his friends death and eventually returning at a later time?

On another site (one of those that one has to troll through a plethora of comments that sound like they were posted by the Westboro Baptist Church before finding a relevant comment...) I saw this posted: "My guess, they'll find that he passed out and choked on his own vomit, the way millions of intoxicated people do." While I normally wouldn't hone in on that, I remembered Steely Dan's comment yesterday : "One of the officers found the living area "Extremely Clean" I don't know what he means by that but it seems like he's noting a very recent cleaning." This made me wonder if the vomit that was cleaned up (prior to alerting police/paramedics being called) was actually Dexter Williams'. I should note that I logically don't see why if it was Williams' vomit that Cummins & Barbour would claim it was Cummins, but it does make me wonder so I thought I'd share that tidbit with you folks for your thoughts.

I'd love to hear your thoughts because the first two things I mentioned in this post (along with Barbour stating that after his drug-binge with Cummins & Willims he had a Rip Van Winkle-like 10 hour of sleep) raise the biggest red flags that make me question what actually led to Dexter Williams death and how the reality of events was covered up prior to alerting paramedics or the authorities.

 

[tezi]

HastingsChi,

The personality type that would be able to pull off what Cummins pulled off on-air on September 5 would be a sociopath, IMO. I am not saying Brett Cummins is a sociopath, I'm just saying the behavior he exhibited would be consistent with one.

 

[wfgodot]

I think the final, and probably rightful, ruling here will be, in effect, "death by misadventure."

 

[krimekat]

The personality trait that Cummins pulled off on-air on 5 Sep is professionalism -- he's been trained to do his job for many years, IMHO of course.

 

[Steely Dan]

I just re-watched Brett Cummins' September 5th forecast (uploaded @ 4:46pm & confirmed to be recorded that day).

Is anyone else as disturbed, shocked, perplexed as I am that he was able to pull off a happy, carefree on-camera performance less than 8 hours after the incident?
What type of personality trait allows one to do this? [IMO: His media training skills would not be enough to compensate given the situation]

Is there a possible explanation for Cummins fleeing the scene of his friends death and eventually returning at a later time?

On another site (one of those that one has to troll through a plethora of comments that sound like they were posted by the Westboro Baptist Church before finding a relevant comment...) I saw this posted: "My guess, they'll find that he passed out and choked on his own vomit, the way millions of intoxicated people do." While I normally wouldn't hone in on that, I remembered Steely Dan's comment yesterday : "One of the officers found the living area "Extremely Clean" I don't know what he means by that but it seems like he's noting a very recent cleaning." This made me wonder if the vomit that was cleaned up (prior to alerting police/paramedics being called) was actually Dexter Williams'. I should note that I logically don't see why if it was Williams' vomit that Cummins & Barbour would claim it was Cummins, but it does make me wonder so I thought I'd share that tidbit with you folks for your thoughts.

I'd love to hear your thoughts because the first two things I mentioned in this post (along with Barbour stating that after his drug-binge with Cummins & Willims he had a Rip Van Winkle-like 10 hour of sleep) raise the biggest red flags that make me question what actually led to Dexter Williams death and how the reality of events was covered up prior to alerting paramedics or the authorities.

BBM

I think the vomit cleanup story was to cover the carpet cleaning in general. Who knows what the stain really was. JMO

 

[HastingsChi]

Breaking News: Ark. weatherman resigns after Maumelle death

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - An attorney for an Arkansas meteorologist says his client has resigned.

Little Rock-based lawyer Mark Hampton says TV weatherman Brett Cummins resigned from his job with KARK on Friday.

 

[T4Tide]

To quote a poster from a local forum, "Sometimes too much Cummins can lead to goins."

 

[Steely Dan]

Breaking News: Ark. weatherman resigns after Maumelle death

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - An attorney for an Arkansas meteorologist says his client has resigned.

Little Rock-based lawyer Mark Hampton says TV weatherman Brett Cummins resigned from his job with KARK on Friday.<modsnip>

Innocent of what? There hasn't been any charges filed!!

 

[BrownRice]

Breaking News: Ark. weatherman resigns after Maumelle death

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - An attorney for an Arkansas meteorologist says his client has resigned.

Little Rock-based lawyer Mark Hampton says TV weatherman Brett Cummins resigned from his job with KARK on Friday.

<Modsnip>

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

I'd bet it was involuntary resignation! If they wanted to get rid of him before and couldn't, now was their chance.

I'm very suspicious of him leaving and returning to the "exceptionally" clean house. Especially after a little party. Nobody lives in an exceptionally clean house (no "normal" people without full-time cleaning staff). Maybe your house is exceptionally clean if you are having guests for dinner or something, but normal living would not be exceptionally clean - just very clean at most. And it certainly wouldn't be exceptionally clean after a night of partying, doing drugs, and good lord what else went on in that house.

They were probably awake for hours getting their stories straight, cleaning, and freaking out.

 

[HastingsChi]

As a gay man who is a little younger than Brett Cummins whose professional experience is in both broadcast journalism (former) and public relations/crisis communications (current), this story caught my attention. I've become pretty passionate about trying to find answers that would help me and, in turn, everyone reading this to understand this bizarre, truly unfortunate situation.

Sadly, I had no doubt on September 6th that no matter if Brett Cummins did absolutely nothing wrong or he (and Barbour) is responsible for an act leading to the death of Dexter Williams that he would have to resign from his position. After reading countless reader comments left on news articles in Little Rock-based publications, national publications, Facebook and Twitter it became crystal clear to me that there was no possible way that Cummins could return to the airwaves in Little Rock. I continue to be horrified at the bigotry, hate and homophobia that exists in Little Rock today. If I was in Cummins' position I'd probably do the same thing and most explore other cities to call home. I understand that it is easy for someone to be nameless, faceless and use their screename to say hurtful, hateful things but I've really been sickened by things I've read on Little Rock-based sites.

In the past 24 hours I've seen a lot of postings on Twitter feeds, Facebook pages in which people who are allegedly friends with Cummins or were friends of Williams are sharing salacious things about them that I would consider slanderous. Why would you say such things about people who are allegedly your friends? Then again if you woke up next to a close friend who needed medical attention why would you not attempt to perform any sort of life saving technique on a friend, immediately call 911 and flee the scene???