Bryant charged with murdering husband:Potter says she bragged about shooting him
|
Bryant, 55, was preparing to surrender herself to authorities last night in Warren County after learning of the charges against her and was to be taken later for housing in the Van Buren County Jail. She will be held under a $750,000 bond.
She is charged with murder for the shooting death of her ex-husband, Furlon Bryant, 58, whose body was found yards behind their Van Buren County residence June 13, a week after he disappeared on June 6. Evidence at the scene suggests Bryant was shot, partially dismembered and his body burned before he was move up a hill behind their home and hidden beneath a pile of brush.
Warrants were taken by authorities after Bryant was freed from treatment from a self-induced drug overdose she took three days after her husband of more than 20 years went missing June 6. She was released from medical treatment recently and returned to Van Buren County where lawmen say her actions posed an unacceptable risk. Specifically, given the widespread suspicion of her involvement in Mr. Bryant’s brutal slaying, lawmen feared for her safety.
“Her arrest at this point was in her best interest,” District Attorney General Dale Potter said of the timing.
“We had considered waiting until the grand jury next month but we decided, given the climate surrounding this case, that we had better go ahead and seek a warrant,” said Potter.
In the warrant against her, prosecutors maintain Mrs. Bryant bragged to several individuals about shooting her ex-husband to death. The couple had been divorced for about two weeks prior to the murder.
The warrant maintains Mrs. Bryant had said that although her husband’s vehicle had been found abandoned near their home, that his body would never be found. Her alleged prediction proved wrong as search crews found the badly decomposed and poorly hidden body about 30 yards behind the house.
While her murder confession to several individuals will be important in the case against her, Potter said there will be other evidence to support the state’s case which will come out later. Potter also said it is doubtful anyone else will be charged since lawmen suspect she acted alone.
“There could be several motives come into play, but right now we’re looking at some unresolved issues growing out of their recent divorce proceedings,” Potter said, noting the couple was still staying in the same house at the time of the murder. The home was reportedly a bone of contention between the two in the divorce case.