A southwest Missouri man is now charged with first-degree murder for killing a man over the weekend along a county road.
James Earl Hitchcock, of Ava, is now facing first degree murder and armed criminal action charges in connection with the Saturday murder of Wendell Dean Hillhouse, of Branson.
Hillhouse was killed in some sort of incident Saturday along County Road 335 near Ava, said Gary Koop with the Douglass County Sheriff. Police arrested Hitchcock in Howell County near West Plains. He’s being held under a $250,000 bond.
Officials have not released any details about what led to the murder.
