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Woman found with dead Arkansas teacher’s car now charged with murder

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FORT SMITH, Ark. — An Arkansas woman found with a vehicle belonging to a former teacher found dead in his home in July has been charged with his murder.

Taylor Cynthia Elkins, of Fort Smith, was charged Wednesday morning with first-degree murder in connection to the death of William Dubois, Jr., according to a press release from Prosecuting Attorney Daniel Shue.

She was previously facing charges of hindering apprehension and theft by receiving when she was found with a red 2013 Ford Focus that belonged to Dubois Jr., according to a probable cause affidavit.

Elkins told law enforcement in July that a male had given her the car. She changed her story later, saying she was given the car in exchange for sexual favors from the victim.

On Wednesday, in a video arraignment from the Sebastian County Detention Center, Elkins pleaded not guilty to her charges, and her bond was set for $100,000 cash only, according to Shue. She has been held in the Sebastian County detention center since her arrest on that bond.

Dubois Jr. was found dead inside of his Fort Smith duplex on S. Greenwood Ave. in Fort Smith earlier this summer. Investigators found the cause of death to be homicide.