Murder Charge Dropped

A 20-year-old Marble City man, originally charged with first-degree murder in Sequoyah County District  Court, will not face a jury of his peers on the charge, after it was dropped July 2 at the request of the district attorney's office. Arty Allen Farris and Jason Stone shared a home in Marble City. The home caught fire on April 5, and after the fire was extinguished, firefighters found Stone's body in the home's remains. Farris, when questioned by investigators, confessed he shot Stone and left him in the house to die after setting the fire. He said Stone was bullying him. But that's not what other investigators found. Fourth Scoufos, Farris' attorney, and Sheriff Ron Lockhart questioned Farris' confession based on other observations. The state medical examiner reported Stone's death was accidental, that he died of smoke inhalation rather than a gunshot wound. The state medical examiner also reported that what was at first thought to be a gunshot to the head was a deformity. An independent investigator, Curtis Ozment, found that the fire was not intentionally set, Scoufos reported. Ozment found the fire was caused  by faulty wiring in the electrical panel in the northwest bedroom of the home. The fire was not at floor level, where it would have been if set intentionally, but toward the ceiling. Scoufos said he visited with Assistant District Attorney Jack Thorp about the case and, based on that evidence, Thorp dropped the charge against Farris on July 2. Scoufos explained why Farris may have confessed to a crime he didn't commit. "He was terrified," Scoufos said of Farris' mental state at the time. "He was in a state of shock. He had just lost his friend and his home had burned to the ground." Scoufos said Farris wasn't even in the home when it caught fire, but was outside with a friend. Now, Scoufos added, Farris is ready to resume his life after being cleared of murder and arson. Soufos concluded, "Sheriff Ron Lockhart deserves a lot of credit in the case for looking beyond the surface, for seeing to it that the case was dismissed."

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