Jamar Smith, 34, known as Tripp to friends and family, was fatally shot in his Hot Springs home in the early morning hours of May 18, 2023. Smith, a Black father of two, was found dead from a gunshot wound at a residence on 209 Maryland Street after police responded to a report of a possible shooting at about 2:30 a.m. Hot Springs police opened a homicide investigation.

Investigators moved quickly. By the evening of May 18, officers had identified a suspect and arrested 25-year-old Kendrick Cordell Jujuane Burris of Mountain Pine in Garland County at about 5:15 p.m. Burris was charged with first-degree murder and held on $500,000 bond; a Garland County Circuit Court jury later found him guilty and sentenced him to life in prison.

Does anyone have information about Smith’s life in Hot Springs or the events leading up to that night?