Solivan, 22, pleads guilty to fatal Springdale stabbing

FAYETTEVILLE — A Springdale man pleaded guilty Wednesday in Washington County Circuit Court to a charge of second-degree murder related to a 2017 stabbing at an apartment complex.

Police said they found Luis Esmurria-Anaya, 44, at 2:06 a.m. May 7, 2017, bleeding on the staircase at 1705 Lowell Road, Building C.

Esmurria-Anaya was pronounced dead at Northwest Medical Center-Springdale, according to the report. He was stabbed four times after he tried to break up a fight, police said. No one else was hurt.

Hector Manual Solivan Jr., 22, of 712 Maple Drive, was arrested and initially charged with first-degree murder. Solivan pleaded guilty Wednesday as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors.

Circuit Judge Mark Lindsay sentenced Solivan to 30 years at the Arkansas Department of Correction with 12 years suspended. He was given credit for 590 days jail time served.

Mieka Hatcher, deputy prosecutor, said the circumstances of the case better fit the state’s second-degree murder statute than first-degree, which requires premeditation. She said Solivan clearly intended to cause serious physical harm when he stabbed Esmurria-Anaya, but it didn’t appear to be a premeditated killing.

“This was a fight where he was stabbed and that caused his death,” Hatcher said of Esmurria-Anaya.

Second-degree murder is punishable by six to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $15,000. First-degree murder is punishable by 10 to 40 years or life in prison.

Solivan told police after his arrest he stabbed Esmurria-Anaya, saw him fall to the ground and saw him have a “seizure,” the report said.

But, witnesses said they tried to break up the fight when Esmurria-Anaya was stabbed three times in the chest and was cut on the back of the head, according to the preliminary report.

Esmurria-Anaya, who lived in another building, and Solivan didn’t know each other, police said. Alcohol was a factor in the incident, they said.

Solivan’s criminal background includes possession of alcohol by a minor and a failure to appear offense, according to the police report.

Solivan