CRAWFORD COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Two Crawford County men facing charges in connection with a June double homicide in Chester have pleaded not guilty, according to court documents.
Eddie Sterling, 54, and Billy Nelson, 45, are charged with two counts of capital murder. Nelson is being charged as a habitual offender. Both were arrested on June 25 and are being held without bond in the Crawford County Detention Center.
Crawford County Sheriff Daniel Perry previously told KNWA/FOX24 that Sterling and Nelson were arrested in connection with the shooting deaths of Jay Collins, 66, and Donny Shipp, 70.
Nelson and Sterling entered not guilty pleas during court appearances on July 16.
Status hearings are scheduled for Jan. 28, 2026, and trials are set to begin on March 9, 2026.
CCSO deputies responded to a shooting call at a home on Lands End Road in Chester around 11:28 p.m. on June 24.
Shipp and Collins were found with gunshot injuries. Collins was pronounced dead at the home, and Shipp died after being taken to a nearby hospital.
Authorities found Nelson and Sterling at a residence in nearby Uniontown the next day and took them to the Crawford County Justice Center.
Sterling was interviewed by detectives and said that he and Nelson drove to Chester to look at getting a transmission for their vehicle. Sterling said he stayed in the vehicle while Nelson entered the home to talk to Collins.
Nelson told Sterling that Collins pulled a gun on him and threatened to kill Nelson, Sterling and Sterling’s family if they did not pay off the debt that Sterling’s father had accrued.
Sterling said he left Nelson with a friend but picked him up later, and they returned to the Uniontown residence. Sterling went to his brother’s residence on the same property and retrieved a gun before going to Nelson’s vehicle. Sterling’s brother later confirmed that information in an interview.
The affidavit said Sterling drove Nelson to the Chester home so they could “work out a deal to protect [Sterling] and his family.”
In Sterling’s interview, he said that he did not know Nelson was going to hurt anyone, according to the affidavit.
Sterling told police that Nelson had him angle the car so they could make a quick escape “in case something happened.”
Sterling stayed in the vehicle and heard more than five shots coming from the house, but claimed he did not see anything. Nelson then got into the vehicle and told Sterling to “Go!”, according to the affidavit.
Sterling said they took off and did not talk about the incident, but they got lost and ended up in Conway.
Nelson spoke with detectives and said they only went to the property to ask for the transmission. He said that no altercation took place while they were at the home.
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