Three brothers arrested for 1999 murder of Barry County teen

Three brothers who have long been suspects in the 1999 murder of 14-year-old Justin Hocutt, Seligman, have been arrested, according to a news release from the Barry County Sheriff's Office.

Bobby Ray Scott, 48, Mark Wesley Scott, 46, and David Ray Scott, 49, were arrested for first degree murder with David Scott being held in the Barry County Jail and Mark and David Scott in the Pulaski County, Arkansas Jail.

Barry County Sheriff Danny Boyd has scheduled a press conference for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Barry County Sheriff's Office.

The crime was described in a public plea for information issued by the Missouri State Highway Patrol in May.

Hocutt was last seen alive during the morning hours of October 9,1999, at a residence in Seligman. Approximately 22 hours later, Hocutt’s deceased body was located on train tracks near his residence. 

In recent years, several tips and leads have been passed along to law enforcement and investigators have followed up on several credible leads. Investigators have also re-submitted evidence for additional testing/evaluation through the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Laboratory. 

Sergeant Bradley Germann (Q/DDCC) said, “Hocutt was 14 years old at the time of his death and there is substantial evidence and/or circumstances regarding this case which make it suspicious in nature. We believe there are individuals who know details about the incident and what happened to Hocutt. This was likely not an accident, and we ask those individuals who know more about the incident to contact investigators. The Hocutt family deserves to know what happened to their child. I believe this case can be solved with the help from the community."