Cass County men indicted for capital murder

On Wednesday September 30th, the Grand Jury of Cass County, Texas handed down indictments for capital murder against Kevin Shepard, 29, of Atlanta, Texas and Gary Shepard, 50, of Bivins, Texas. The charges stem from the disappearance of Donnie Combs and Cynthia Arnold, who went missing on or about September 25, 2018.

The indictments allege Kevin Shepard caused the deaths of Combs and Arnold, and Gary Shepard solicited or directed the killing of Donnie Combs due to his status as a prospective witness. Investigators believe Gary Shepard and Kevin Shepard targeted Donnie Combs because they believed he was going to be a witness against Gary Shepard in an ongoing felony theft case. The missing persons and murder case was investigated by the Cass County Sheriff’s Department, Investigators with the Cass County District Attorney’s Office, and the Texas Rangers.

Kevin Shepard, who is currently in the Cass County jail on unrelated charges, was served with the warrant of arrest on the morning of October 6. Gary Shepard was apprehended in Arkansas on October 5 with the help of the U.S. Marshall’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit and served with the capital murder warrant. He was also arrested on a warrant stemming from an indictment for sexual assault, also handed down on September 30. Investigators do not believe the sexual assault for which he was separately indicted is related to the murders.

Kevin Shepard is expected to be brought before Judge Bill Miller and magistrated in the 5th Judicial District Court sometime this week. Bond was previously set by Judge Miller at $1.5 million. Gary Shepard must first be extradited from Arkansas and will then be brought before a Cass County judge. His bond for capital murder is also $1.5 million, but there is an additional bond requirement of $500,000 on the sexual assault charge.

If convicted of capital murder, both men could face the death penalty.