The Sentinel-Record 8-8-1978

A hearing on a motion to suppress part of the prosecution’s case against Hot Springs Police Lt. Thurman Abernathy, who is charged with first-degree murder, will be held this morning in Hot Spring County Circuit Court in Malvern.

Abernathy is charged in the 1976 death of Garland County Sheriff’s Deputy Linda Edwards, whose skeletal remains were found just inside the Hot Spring County line several months after her disappearance.

Abernathy has been on indefinite suspension from the police department since his arrest last year, pending the outcome of the trial.

The defense is seeking to prohibit the prosecution from introducing as evidence certain statements Mrs. Edwards made before her death that allegedly link Abernathy to the crime.

The case is scheduled to trial next Monday.