Murder charges against Scott brothers dropped, investigation ongoing

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

First-degree murder charges against three brothers suspected of killing a 14-year-old Seligman boy in 1999 have been dropped, with the investigation into the case ongoing.

A preliminary hearing in the cases was held on Oct. 27, with all charges against Mark Wesley Scott, Bobby Ray Scott and David Ray Scott dropped after they were filed and arrests made in July.

Danny Boyd, Barry County sheriff, confirmed on Oct. 27 the Scotts had been released, adding the Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation.

“One of the witnesses that they wanted to testify would not do it, and we are following up with some other people,” Boyd said. “We can still file charges on it.

Boyd said he was not happy with the decision, nor the lack of communication.

“I was a little disappointed, because I didn’t even know that they were releasing them until I got to the court,” he said. “I am not real happy that there was no communication from the AG about what they had decided.”

Amy Boxx, Barry County prosecutor, said the Scotts’ cases were handled by the Attorney General’s office as an assist.

“As they remain under ongoing investigation, I am not at liberty to comment,” she said.

Isabelle Bryson, deputy communications director at the office of Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, confirmed charges were dropped and a witness declined to testify, but she declined to offer any more detail.

“Our office is continuing its investigation,” Bryson said. “This is one our office wants to continue and get to the bottom of.”

Boyd announced on July 23 that the Scott brothers, stepbrothers to Hocutt’s girlfriend at the time, were each been charged with first-degree murder in Hocutt’s death in October 1999. Authorities allege Hocutt was fatally assaulted at a Seligman residence before his body was placed on the railroad tracks in an attempt to conceal the crime.

The brothers were born in 1977, 1978 and 1980, all legal adults at the time of the alleged crime.

The arrests followed an extensive review launched after Boyd took office. Boyd said his administration began a comprehensive reexamination of the case in the fall of 2025, with investigators reviewing every report, document and piece of evidence collected during the original investigation.