On March 25, 1998, five people were found shot to death with a rifle at the Pine Bluff, Arkansas, residence of Clay King Smith. Victims included 24-year-old mother Shelley Sorg, her children Sean Michael Sorg, 5, and Taylor Sorg, 3, 20-year-old Misty Erwin (Shelley’s cousin), and 12-year-old family friend Samantha Rhodes. Two days earlier, on March 23, Misty Erwin had called police saying Smith had assaulted her and she needed help leaving; when officers arrived she decided to stay.

After family members reported the group missing, police located the bodies at Smith’s home. A manhunt for Clay King Smith ended on March 26 near Star City in Lincoln County after a standoff in which he reportedly held a rifle later identified as the murder weapon and was shot in the arm by officers when he refused to drop it. He told authorities he had sent three of them to Heaven and two to Hell and later attributed the killings to drugs.

Anyone with information about the case or who knew Shelley, her children, Misty Erwin, or Samantha Rhodes is asked to come forward.