Family members have identified the 1-year-old child who died following an incident in Morrilton as Heaven Marie Conway, as investigators continue to build their case against a Conway County man facing a preliminary charge of 1st-degree murder.
According to the Morrilton Police Department, officers responded to a residence on Williams Street at approximately 3:25 p.m. on June 7 after receiving a report of an unresponsive child who was not breathing.
When officers arrived, they encountered Devonte Walls holding the child. Police immediately began life-saving measures until personnel from the Morrilton Fire Department and Med Tech arrived and continued CPR efforts.
The child was transported to St. Vincent Morrilton Hospital, where additional life-saving measures were unsuccessful.
Walls was later arrested on a preliminary charge of 1st-degree murder and remains in the Conway County Detention Center awaiting the formal filing of charges. Authorities have said the investigation remains active and ongoing.
Family members later confirmed the child was Heaven Marie Conway. A GoFundMe campaign established to assist with funeral expenses states that Heaven would have celebrated her 2nd birthday on July 4, 2026.
Grandmother Speaks Out
Heaven’s grandmother, Shannon Conway, said she received a phone call Sunday informing her that her granddaughter had died.
Conway said family members initially learned the child had reportedly become unresponsive after falling from a chair on a porch. However, she said the family later began receiving information from individuals who claimed to have witnessed events leading up to the emergency response.
Conway said she had previously requested a welfare check and later learned that both Morrilton Police and the Arkansas Department of Human Services had visited the residence.
According to Conway, she was told those visits resulted in no findings.
The grandmother said she had concerns about possible signs of abuse before Heaven’s death and cited information she said had been shared with her by the child’s mother regarding previous bruises and injuries.
“There had been signs leading up to this,” Conway said. “The only hope we had was when they told us she was unresponsive; they hadn’t told us she was dead, so we still had that hope.”
Conway said the family is still awaiting final findings from the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory regarding the child’s cause of death.
Neighbor Describes Events Before Emergency Response
Amber Trezvant, who said her parents live near the Williams Street residence, described what she witnessed shortly before first responders arrived.
Trezvant said she was visiting her parents when a woman she identified as Walls’ girlfriend came to the door seeking help.
A short time later, she said Walls arrived carrying the child and asking for assistance.
“He was saying, ‘Miss Amber, the baby’s not breathing,'” Trezvant recalled.
Trezvant said she attempted to check the child for a pulse but was unable to find one.
She said when she got a closer look at the child, she observed injuries that immediately concerned her.
“When he turned her over and I saw her, I could not get it out of my head,” Trezvant said. “She was black and blue, her head was swollen, her eyes were already black and blue, her lips were purple and I said, ‘Call 9-1-1.'”
Trezvant said she immediately contacted emergency dispatchers and followed Walls toward the residence.
“I was calling 9-1-1 saying, ‘Get down here, there’s an unresponsive baby, she’s not breathing,'” she said.
Moments later, police arrived and began providing emergency aid.
Trezvant said the experience has continued to affect her in the days since the incident.
“I haven’t been able to sleep,” she said. “I’m shaken. I just keep replaying that moment in my head.”
She said she often saw Heaven playing outside while visiting her parents and never suspected anything was wrong.
“That was the scariest, most devastating thing I’ve ever seen,” Trezvant said. “No child should ever go through that.”
Investigation Continues
Police have said no additional information will be released while the investigation remains active.
Walls remains in custody at the Conway County Detention Center awaiting the formal filing of charges.
All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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