A family dispute in Ashdown, Arkansas turned deadly on July 26, 2022, when 37-year-old Joshua John Yaeger was shot and killed during an argument in the Richmond Community home where his mother lived. The argument involved the mother’s 65-year-old live-in boyfriend, Walter Richard Duermit Jr. Duermit allegedly produced a firearm and fired a single shot; Yaeger was pronounced dead at the scene.

Duermit was arrested at the house without resistance and booked into the Little River County jail. He was charged with first-degree murder and prosecutors filed a firearm enhancement. At his initial appearance a circuit judge appointed the public defender’s office and set bail at $250,000; an arraignment was scheduled for early September. Yaeger was remembered by family as a skilled carpenter, a loving father, son, and brother who enjoyed fishing, duck hunting, and playing his guitar.

Does anyone in the Richmond Community have information about the night of July 26, 2022 or about Yaeger’s relationships leading up to the shooting?