More than 200 Miller County residents have been summoned to Miller County Courthouse today as prospective jurors in the capital murder trial of a 67-year-old woman accused of killing a fellow square dancer.
Jury selection is expected to take most of the day. Opening arguments and testimony are scheduled to begin Tuesday morning.
Hyatt has been in custody since the day after Wheelington was found shot to death on the front porch of her house. Not long after Hyatt entered a not-guilty plea in July 2014, Hyatt's lawyers asked the court to order a psychological evaluation, resulting in a months-long delay in the proceedings. Hyatt was found competent, and in July 2015, the case began moving toward trial.
Hyatt allegedly believed Wheelington was responsible for the end of her 40-year marriage. Hyatt and Wheelington were members of the Guys and Dolls Square Dancing Club.
Wheelington was shot multiple times as she apparently tried to reach the front door of her home in the 7200 block of Valley Street in Texarkana, Ark., according to search-warrant affidavits used to create the following account.
Wheelington's home sits at the end of a long gravel drive with a pond in front. Investigators believe Wheelington was enjoying her morning coffee when she was attacked on her front porch.
Wheelington was wearing a robe and still held a cigarette in her right hand when her lifeless body was discovered. Investigators noticed bullet holes in windows and the front door of the home, and collected spent rounds of ammunition from Wheelington's porch.
A friend to whom Wheelington had been speaking at about 8 a.m. the morning of her death told police Wheelington ended their phone call because Hyatt was walking toward her. Mutual friends of the women allegedly warned Wheelington in the days before the shooting to be wary of Hyatt, who had reportedly confronted Wheelington at her home and the square dancing club the day before.