Body identified as Missouri man sought in mother’s murder
A body found by hikers last week in Hot Springs has been identified as a Missouri man who was being sought locally in connection with his mother’s murder after her partial remains were found in the back of a truck here on Oct. 28, 2020, Hot Springs police said Friday.
Aaron Enoch Goodwin, 38, was a suspect in the death of his mother, Connie J. Goodwin, 63, of Deerfield, Mo., who was found deceased at her residence on Quail Road in Vernon County, Mo., on Oct. 28, according to earlier reports.
Hot Springs police responded to the Walmart Neighborhood Market, 1544 Malvern Ave., at 12:35 p.m. Oct. 28 in reference to a suspicious package and found partial human remains in a trash bag in the back of a pickup truck and the owner of the truck was subsequently interviewed, police said in a news release on Friday.
Connie Goodwin’s body had been decapitated and it was her head that was reportedly found in Hot Springs, the Vernon County Sheriff’s Department said in the release.
During the investigation, it was learned the trash bag had been placed into the back of the truck at a local hotel the night before, and the remains were subsequently connected to her homicide in Deerfield.
Hot Springs police then assisted the Missouri Highway Patrol and the Vernon County Missouri Sheriff’s Department in their investigation and Aaron Goodwin was later determined to be a suspect. He was featured on the Hot Springs Police Department’s social media sites as a “Wanted Person.”
On March 6, police responded to a wooded area near the 300 block of Columbia Hills Street in reference to human remains being discovered by hikers in the area. The body was subsequently sent to the Arkansas State Crime lab for examination and identification, the release said.
On Thursday, police were notified the deceased person was confirmed to be Aaron Goodwin and his death was ruled a suicide.
Goodwin had reportedly last been seen on the night of Oct. 27 in the 4800 block of Central Avenue carrying a backpack. Police had cautioned the public not to approach him at the time as he was considered “armed and dangerous.”
The area where Goodwin’s body was found was about 3 miles from where he was last seen.