Anna R. Runau

Kendall S. Desetta

UPDATE, 09/02/2015:

     There have been two additional developments in this case since the original release was made Monday afternoon.

     The knife believed to have been used by ANNA RUNAU to assault and stab the victim with has been located and recovered. A diver with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission found the knife on the lake bottom in approximately nine feet of water about fifty feet out from the shoreline Monday evening in the general area where RUNAU said she threw it. The folding-type knife was taken into evidence and will be sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory in Little Rock for forensic processing. The victim sustained seven stab wounds, one of which was approximately five inches deep. He has been moved out of the hospital ICU and is in stable condition.

     In another development Tuesday, Prosecuting Attorney David Ethredge decided to charge the 17 year old female juvenile arrestee as an adult in the criminal division of the Baxter County Circuit Court. She can now be identified as KENDALL SKYE DESETTA. The Prosecuting Attorney has decided to file only a single felony charge of Aggravated Robbery against KENDALL DESETTA. The formal charge was filed Tuesday and a bench warrant issued for her arrest. She is not believed to have been an active participant in the knife assault against the victim. Therefore, KENDALL DESETTA will not be charged with the Criminal Attempt to commit First Degree Murder charge that the other suspect, ANNA RUNAU, will face. KENDALL DESETTA was transferred this morning from a juvenile detention center to the Baxter County Jail where she was served with the warrant and booked. She will be held in lieu of bond while awaiting trial. She confirmed to investigators this morning that the knife recovered from the lake is the one used in the assault on the victim. KENDALL DESETTA has a bond of $100,000 on her single felony charge, while ANNA RUNAU continues to be held in the Baxter County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bond on her two felony charges. Both of them are expected to appear before the Circuit Court on Thursday, September 3rd.

ORIGINAL RELEASE BELOW, 08/31/2015:

  An 18 year old Gassville woman, ANNA RENAE RUNAU, and a 17 year old juvenile female, also from Gassville, have been arrested in connection with a stabbing incident that was reported early this morning.

     The Sheriff’s Office was notified at approximately 4:10 AM today by personnel from Baxter Regional Medical Center in Mountain Home that a 44 year old man had come into the Emergency Room stating he had been stabbed while in the area of the Buzzard Roost Marina in Lake Norfork. The victim drove to the ER in his 2005 Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck. The victim resides in Salem, Arkansas.

   Initial reports made by the victim to Deputy Jamie Binnion indicated that the victim had picked up the two females at a residence in Midway to go to the lake to go swimming by the marina. After arriving at the lake and entering into the water, ANNA RENAE RUNAU began stabbing the victim in the neck with a knife. He gave a description of the female suspects to the deputy.

     Sheriff’s Investigator Lt. Terry Johnson responded to the hospital to begin an investigation. After his arrival there, Lt. Johnson was informed by a hospital employee that two young females matching the description given by the victim had been seen on the hospital parking lot. Approximately 25 minutes later, Lt. Johnson was approached in the parking lot by one of the suspects, who was identified as ANNA RENAE RUNAU. She admitted at that time to Lt. Johnson that she had stabbed the victim. A short time later, a Mountain Home Police Department officer found the second female suspect sitting inside a vehicle on another section of the parking lot. This suspect was determined to be a 17 year old juvenile and had been entered as a runaway juvenile 30 days or more ago. She was being harbored by RUNAU.

     Both ANNA RUNAU and the 17 year old female were taken into custody and transported to the Sheriff’s Office to be interviewed. Throughout the morning, several interviews were conducted.

     Based upon the statements of the suspects, the statements of the victim, and evidence observed, Sheriff’s Investigators believe that the two female suspects met the victim the previous evening at a local bar on Cranfield Road. At approximately 1:00 AM this morning, the suspects began texting the victim, asking him to meet them at the marina at Buzzard Roost with the promise of a sexual encounter.

     It is believed that the suspects lured the victim into the water. After entering the water, ANNA RUNAU began stabbing the victim in the neck with a knife that she had carried into the water with her. The victim ran out of the water toward his vehicle, attempting to escape. ANNA RUNAU pursued the victim with her knife and continued to stab him in the left shoulder and left arm as he ran. The victim was able to make it to his truck and get away. He subsequently drove himself to Baxter Regional Medical Center. He had been stabbed approximately 7 or 8 times and underwent surgery.

     During the interviews, one of the suspects stated they intended to steal the victim’s truck and drive it to Indiana. One suspect said they intended to slit the victim’s throat if it became necessary.

     One of the suspects also told investigators that she had used her underwear to wipe blood from her face, then threw the underwear into the bushes. The underwear was later located and taken into evidence by investigators. RUNAU said she threw the knife into the water. A Sheriff’s Office diver has been on scene this afternoon attempting to locate the weapon on the bottom of the lake. The weapon has not yet been located.

     Sheriff’s Investigators are still processing the crime scene at Lake Norfork, and the victim’s truck is also being processed for evidence.

     After consulting with the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, a decision has been made to charge each suspect with Aggravated Robbery, a Class Y Felony, and with Criminal Attempt to Commit First Degree Murder, a Class A Felony. ANNA RUNAU has been incarcerated in the Baxter County Detention Center and is being held in lieu of $500,000 bond. She will appear in Circuit Court to answer later this month.

     The 17 year old juvenile has been taken to a juvenile detention center and is being held there. The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is currently considering whether or not to charge her as an adult or as a juvenile.

/s/ John F. Montgomery, Baxter County Sheriff