Treyton Russell Pleads Guilty in Elaine Shooting, Sentenced to 15 Years

Treyton Russell, 23, of Wabash pleaded guilty March 2, 2026 to second-degree murder and first-degree battery in connection with an April 2023 shooting through a window of an Oak Street apartment in Elaine that killed an unborn child named Paisley and critically injured two women. The plea was entered as part of a negotiated agreement, according to the court reporting.

A judge imposed 15-year prison terms on each count and ordered the two 15-year sentences to run concurrently in the Arkansas Department of Corrections. Because the sentences are concurrent, Russell’s effective term is 15 years under the court’s disposition recorded in the plea and sentencing statements.

The two injured occupants were identified as 30-year-old Parneisha Slater and 38-year-old Sandy Williams. Slater, who was about 25 weeks pregnant at the time of the April 2023 shooting, and Williams were each shot several times through the apartment window and flown to Regional One Health Medical Center in Memphis for treatment. Slater’s unborn child, reported by authorities as Paisley, did not survive the mother’s gunshot wounds. A separate child who was inside the apartment at the time was not hurt.

Russell was arrested April 9, 2023 at his home in Wabash, described in local reporting as just north of Elaine and about 20 miles southwest of Helena-West Helena. At the time of that arrest he was initially charged with two counts of first-degree battery; investigators later pursued the homicide-related count after the unborn child’s death. The Phillips County Sheriff’s Office requested investigative assistance from the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division during the probe.

Some public reporting summed the two 15-year terms to describe a 30-year sentence, but court records and sentencing entries show the judge ordered the two terms to run concurrently, a distinction that produces an effective 15-year prison term to be served in the Arkansas Department of Corrections. Public filings available in initial reports do not list the name of the judge who accepted the plea, the prosecutor, or the defense attorney, nor do they specify parole eligibility or any restitution orders.

The April 2023 shooting, the April 9, 2023 arrest in Wabash, the March 2, 2026 guilty plea, and the concurrent 15-year sentence together mark the legal resolution currently recorded in Phillips County court reporting and state investigative releases. Court docket entries and the plea agreement will contain the formal record of the charges, sentencing language, and any additional terms not detailed in the initial reports.