By Scott Harvey
Sulphur Springs – An accused murderer from Sulphur Springs has been moved from the Hopkins County jail and taken to a state mental hospital.
Additional details as to why 34-year-old Jerry Chadwick Clayton was recently transported to the facility were not given. Efforts to reach lead investigator in the case Lieutenant Rusty Stillwagner were unsuccessful.
Clayton is alleged to have killed his grandmother, Beatrice Finney Sanders, on January 17 by pouring water on her head, beating her with his hands and then dropping a television on her head. Clayton was indicted on the murder charge in February by the Hopkins County Grand Jury.
The crime is alleged to have occurred at his grandmother's home in the 1000 block of Como Street in Sulphur Springs.
Clayton is said to have arrived at the Police Department on Saturday, January 17, telling patrol officers that he'd been assaulted. Officers noted that Clayton had blood on his clothes. When asked again, he said his grandmother had been assaulted and needed medical attention. Upon further questioning, Clayton eventually confessed.
The crime was the first homicide reported in Sulphur Springs since 2005.