Man dies month after beating

An Arkansas man has died at a Little Rock hospital of suspected head trauma weeks after being beaten at his home, according to the Drew County sheriff’s office.

Deputies arrived on July 18 at a residence on Midway Route south of Monticello in response to a reported assault. George Flowers, 67, told deputies that he heard a knock at his door and opened it to find a masked neighbor whom he had fought with previously, Sheriff Mark Gober said.

The neighbor, later identified as Jeremy Huskey, 38, began hitting the victim before authorities arrived, Flowers told deputies.

Flowers refused medical treatment that day, according to the sheriff’s office. He was found unresponsive on the floor of his home two days later by a neighbor and taken by ambulance to UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock.

He was transferred to CHI St. Vincent on Aug. 9 for hospice care, and he died Sunday, Gober said.

Flowers’ body was taken to the state Crime Laboratory for autopsy.

Huskey was arrested July 24 on a charge of assault and was released on bail from the Drew County jail the next day, records show. He could face upgraded charges if it is determined that the beating played a direct role in Flowers’ death, according to the sheriff.

Huskey denied beating Flowers, but evidence, including reported items that had been removed from the home, linked him to the assault, Gober said.

The sheriff said Huskey was arrested again Wednesday on a charge of tampering with evidence. He remained in jail without bail Thursday, awaiting an appearance in court Monday.