Woman beaten with can dies; suspect in custody

A 62-year-old woman died Saturday in North Little Rock after another woman struck her multiple times in the head with a metal can, according to an arrest report.

A 911 caller told police dispatchers Friday night that a woman had been assaulted on the 1600 block of Vine Street, and North Little Rock police found Anastacia Brewer lying next to her vehicle with swollen eyes and severe head injuries, according to an arrest report and police spokeswoman Sgt. Amy Cooper.

Brewer had been in a Chevrolet Tahoe with Andrea Barfield, 46, and Leigh McCall earlier in the day, according to an arrest report. Both were later interviewed by officers, the report said.

Barfield initially told police that McCall attacked Brewer, the report said. Investigators said there was blood on Barfield’s clothing but none on McCall’s. Barfield told police that she didn’t know what McCall hit Brewer with because she was drunk.

“Barfield’s statements to me did not match the facts and the evidence gathered during this investigation,” the investigator wrote.

In his interview, McCall told police that Barfield attacked Brewer while they were both inside the vehicle. The report does not say who was driving.

McCall said he ran into a friend’s house to get a towel and some ice for Brewer because her eye was swelling and she was bleeding, the report said. When he returned, McCall saw Barfield hitting Brewer in her face with a metal can, the report said.

McCall said Barfield then went to her brother’s house and changed clothes, according to the report.

Medics transported Brewer to UAMS, where she died Saturday, Cooper said in a previous release.

Officers arrested Barfield on Monday on a charge of first-degree murder and transported her to the Pulaski County jail, where she was being held Tuesday in lieu of a $500,000 bond, according to the jail’s roster.

In 1998 and again in 2009, Barfield pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of third-degree domestic battery, according to court documents. She has also faced charges of harassment, public intoxication, theft of property, driving while intoxicated and multiple other traffic-related charges since 1993. Charges of harassment and public intoxication were dismissed in 1999.

Brewer’s death was the 11th North Little Rock homicide this year, and was quickly followed by the death of a man who was shot Thursday.

Alex Blueford, 38, died Sunday, three days after he was shot near 800 N. Beech St., according to previous reports. Blueford’s grandfather, Louis Thomas, 70, surrendered to police late Thursday and told police that he’d shot his grandson, according to reports.