Woman killed in shooting
GARFIELD — A woman is dead and her son is in jail after a Monday shooting.
Benton County Sheriff’s deputies discovered the body of Christel Burk Malone, 44, in the residence at 16912 Smith Ridge Road Monday afternoon. A short time later, deputies arrested a suspect, Patrick Christopher Malone, 20, Garfield. They booked him into the Benton County Jail at 10:10 p.m. Monday, July 31, for capital murder, a class Y felony.
Patrick Malone’s Facebook page shows a recent profile photograph.
On June 27, his mother had commented: “Such a handsome young man! Love you son.”
Ambulance personnel from both Northeast Benton County and Avoca fire departments were dispatched to a trauma call shortly after 3 p.m. Monday afternoon with a report of someone being
shot. An ambulance helicopter was initially dispatched, then canceled.
The residence, a mobile home, is visible through heavy brush about a quarter of a mile prior to the driveway, but not visible from the driveway off Smith Ridge Road, a dirt road in rural Garfield.
Residents on Smith Ridge Road commented about the heavy traffic of emergency vehicles but declined to speak about the family involved in the incident.
Deputies and investigators with the Benton County Sheriff ’s Office spent hours examining evidence in the mobile home.