Man drove with woman’s body in truck from Arkansas to Missouri, officials say
Officials in Arkansas and Missouri are piecing together the events that led to an officer-involved shooting and the body of a woman being found inside a pickup truck.
On Dec. 8, police in Festus, Missouri, were called for reports of an active shooter at a White Castle, according to a Dec. 11 news release from the Arkansas Department of Public Safety.
Jarrett W. Cousins, 40, left the area in a Dodge Ram truck, police said. Festus and Crystal City police tried to pull him over, but Cousins didn’t stop and he hit a concrete median, the release said.
“Cousins exited the vehicle wearing body armor and armed with multiple firearms,” police said. “The suspect discharged his weapons, and officers returned fire, striking the suspect.”
Cousins was taken to a hospital in critical but stable condition.
Authorities then found a woman, identified as 45-year-old Clara Blaxton, dead in the front passenger seat of his truck, police said.
Officials are investigating Blaxton’s death as a homicide and believe she was killed in northeast Arkansas, according to a news release from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in Missouri.
“While a lot (of) things are still so uncertain, one thing is for sure... we lost our mother,” a GoFundMe page said.
A cause of death has not been released.
Cousins is charged with assault 1st degree or attempt – serious physical injury or special victim and armed criminal action in the officer-involved shooting incident, authorities said. He is being held without bond, and no attorney information was listed in court records.
Crystal City is about a 40-mile drive southwest of St. Louis.
This story was originally published December 12, 2024 at 9:31 AM with the headline "Man drove with woman’s body in truck from Arkansas to Missouri, officials say."
