Tammy Curtis, Managing Editor

Just over a year after the Jan. 8, 2024, stabbing death of Derek Hamilton of Cherokee Village, the victim’s mother and her live-in boyfriend were sentenced by Judge Tim Weaver on Jan. 22 in the Fulton County case. 

Anna Hamilton, 48, entered a negotiated guilty plea to Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution, a Class D Felony.  She and her boyfriend were held in jail, first on a $500,000 bond that was later reduced to $300,000 until their case was adjudicated last week. 

Hamilton received a three-year suspended imposition of sentence and was given 380 days jail time credit.

Hamilton’s suspended sentence conditions require her to report monthly to a probation office, pay $35 supervision fees and fines, and follow the typical rules for probationers. If she violates these conditions, she could be sentenced to six years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections. 

Hamilton’s boyfriend, Shawn Cox, 53, entered a reduced negotiated guilty plea to Negligent Homicide with a Deadly Weapon, a Class D Felony in the case. He was sentenced to 72 months in the Arkansas Department of Corrections in the stabbing death of Hamilton’s son. Cox was initially charged, like Hamilton, with Second Degree Murder. 

Public Defender John Henderson represented Cox. The court combined the two cases. 

The case began after an investigation by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department into the stabbing death of Derek Hamilton. The Probable Cause Affidavit outlined the details of the night of Hamilton’s death.  The two were arrested and charged in the crime on Jan. 19, 2024. 

On Jan. 8, 2024, deputies with the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the 100 block of Seminole Drive in Cherokee Village regarding an altercation between family members Anna Hamilton, Sean Cox and Derek Hamilton. 

During the altercation, Derek died due to injuries sustained. Sheriff Smith and his investigators were notified and arrived on the scene. A white male, identified as Derek Hamilton, was located face-up at the scene and was pronounced dead by the coroner. 

He had sustained multiple stab wounds to the front and back of his torso. Anna Hamilton’s boyfriend, identified as Shawn Cox, admitted to stabbing Derek during their argument that turned physical when Derek allegedly attacked Anna.

Anna had spontaneously uttered on the scene that if Derek raised his hand to her again, she would “take him out of this world”. 

Both suspects admitted they had been drinking before the incident. Cox was interviewed at the Sheriff’s Office regarding the incident. The victim’s mother explained in her interview that she could not remember when she had seen her son with the knife but did not know if that was before his death or earlier that night. Cox told police he went and got the knife when Derek and Anna were fighting. He then told police that when Derek, who was unarmed, began hitting him, he began stabbing him in the back and stomach. 

A recording of the night’s incidents was obtained as evidence, and Derek can be heard stating she was going to kill him and that his back was broken. Investigators believe his statements were consistent with the injuries he received during the altercation, assuming his back was broken from the wounds. 

The two were taken in for questioning the night of the death and after the victim’s body was returned from the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory for an autopsy.  The pair were both brought in again for questioning on Jan. 19 and arrested by Fulton County Sheriff Jake Smith and charged with Second Degree Murder. 

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