In an affidavit given to investigating authorities over the weekend, Brian Bliss Travis, 37, made a full confession in the murder of four members of the same family in Polk County last week.
Travis, who has a lengthy criminal record was charged Monday in the deaths of Bethany Jo Wester, 43, her two year- old daughter Acelynn Wester, her 9-year-old son Reilly Scarbrough and 66-year-old uncle Steven Payne.
On Saturday, Travis told investigators with the Arkansas State Police he had killed all four of the individuals, then provided information that led to the recovery of Reilly Scarbrough’s body.
The information contained in the affidavit provides a look at the timeline of the crimes and their aftermath.
Travis was the live-in boyfriend of Bethany Jo Wester.
The elder Wester’s body was found last Tuesday in a secluded area of Polk County but officials were not able to make a positive identification. Investigators got a call on Wednesday that Wester had not shown up for work and went to her house with a search warrant.
The led to the arrest of Travis Wednesday night on charges of furnishing prohibited articles.
Inside Fort Smith broke the news of Travis’ arrest on the unrelated charges because the address on the warrant and booking sheet was the same address listed for Bethany Jo Wester.
On Wednesday of last week, one day after the body of Bethany Jo Wester had been found in a rural area southeast of Cove, authorities started searching for her missing children.
The Arkansas State Crime Lab provided a positive identification of Bethany Wester’s body while the children were under an Amber Alert and the object of a multi-agency search effort.
On Thursday, the body of Steven Payne was found in his Hatfield residence.
The bodies of Acelyyn Wester and Reilly Scarbrough were discovered last week in the same general vicinity of where their mother’s had been found on Tuesday.
Travis is being held without bond in the Polk County Detention Center.
