No criminal charges will be filed in the death of the young man whose body was found in an empty bathtub with former KARK meteorologist Brett Cummins.

After reviewing the case, which occurred in September, the local prosecuting attorney recently concluded that “no criminal charges are appropriate based on the evidence presented.”

24-year-old Dexter Williams was found dead, with a chain dog collar around his neck, after a night of partying with Cummins over the Labor Day weekend.  The former KARK meteorologist woke up next to Williams’s lifeless body in an empty bathtub and, after initial moments of panic, cooperated with police in their investigation. Read more

KARK, the NBC-affiliate in Little Rock, is making some changes to the evening talent lineup.

Starting Monday, weekend anchor Jessica Dean (pictured) will co-anchor the station’s 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts alongside current anchor Bob Clausen. She will replace Melissa Simas, who will contribute to those two newscasts as a reporter, while also continuing to anchor the 5 p.m. news.

“Melissa is an exceptional anchor/reporter and has made it clear that her passion is reporting stories and digging into important issues that affect Arkansas,” KARK news director Rob Heverling said in a statement. “We are pleased Melissa will have a much greater influence on how we shape our coverage of the news of the day.”

Dean, Simas and Clausen will be joined by Keith Monahan, who is the station’s new chief meteorologist. KARK reporter Lauren Trager will take over weekend anchoring duties from Dean.

After an extensive search, KARK has named a replacement for Brett Cummins: former KIAH weathercaster Keith Monahan will be chief meteorologist at the Little Rock NBC-affiliate.

Cummins resigned from KARK after waking up in a bathtub next to the dead body of Dexter Williams. Williams was determined to have died of asphyxia and drug intoxication.

Monahan left KIAH in March after 11 years with the Houston CW-affiliate. “From all I’ve heard and seen, Little Rock’s a great city and the weather will be challenging — just like I like it,” Monahan told Houston media blogger Mike McGuff.

Monahan, a veteran meteorologist, has also worked at KDLT in Sioux Falls, WOOD in Grand Rapids and KGWN in Cheyenne. He starts at KARK on Monday.

A medical examiner in Little Rock has concluded that Dexter Williams, the 24-year-old who was found dead in a bathtub with former KARK meteorologist Brett Cummins, died from asphyxia and drug intoxication.

Williams was found in an empty bathtub wearing a chain dog collar around his neck, following a night allegedly spent drinking and snorting illegal drugs with Cummins.  The medical examiner found no evidence of strangulation.  The drug intoxication is listed as a mix of amphetamine and methamphetamine.

Although the examiner has recorded a cause of death, the manner of death remains undetermined.  The local police department is turning the case over to the county prosecutors office to determine what, if any, charges will be filed. Read more

Brett Cummins, who was found asleep next to the body of a dead man wearing a dog collar last Monday, has resigned as meteorologist at Little Rock’s KARK.

Cummins announced his resignation through an attorney on Friday and KARK reported the news during its 10 p.m. newscast, with anchor Melissa Simas stating, “Brett Cummins’ tenure at Channel 4 has ended.”

Little Rock CBS-affiliate KTHV also covered the resignation during its 10 p.m. newscast Friday, as part of its ongoing coverage of the death of Cummins’s friend, 24-year-old Dexter Williams.

The police are still investigating what caused the death, although no criminal charges have been filed.  KARK’s full statement on Cummins’s resignation inside… Read more

KARK meteorologist Brett Cummins, who was found asleep in an empty bathtub next to the dead body of a 24-year-old, told The Associated Press on Thursday night that he’s going through “a rough time.”

Cummins declined to comment any further but his attorney released a statement saying that he “deeply regrets the grief this incident has caused those who know him, especially his co-workers and family members.”

Cummins’s attorney also insisted that no foul play was involved in the death of Dexter Williams, who was found wearing a chain dog collar around his neck after he reportedly spent a night drinking and snorting illegal narcotics with Cummins.

The veteran weathercaster’s full statement is inside… Read more

The family of the the 24-year-old man who was found dead in an empty bathtub alongside KARK meteorologist Brett Cummins released a statement on Wednesday saying that he was “easily influenced.”

Dexter Williams reportedly snorted illegal narcotics with Cummins before he was found dead, with a chain dog collar around his neck, in the bathtub where he and the weathercaster had spent the night.

Police are telling Little Rock news stations that they’ve received preliminary autopsy results in the death, but so far they have declined to release those findings. Read more

On Tuesday evening, every news station in Little Rock covered the untimely death of a 24-year-old man who was found dead in a bathtub alongside KARK meteorologist Brett Cummins.

While KARK, an NBC-affiliate, disclosed on-air that its longtime weathercaster was connected to the death, rival stations provided more in-depth coverage of the incident, even though not all of them mentioned Cummins by name. Read more

During its 5, 6, and 10 p.m. newscasts on Tuesday night, Little Rock NBC-affiliate KARK announced that meteorologist Brett Cummins, who has been with the station since 2001, was connected to the death of a 24-year-old man who was found dead in a bathtub wearing a dog collar.

“Our meteorlogist Brett Cummins was at the home at the time of the death and we felt we should share this with our viewers,” KARK anchor Bob Clausen said during each newscast.  “No criminal charges have been filed in this case.  Brett will not be on the air as he is mourning the loss of his friend.” Read more

Meteorologist Brett Cummins, who has been with KARK since 2001, was questioned by police on Monday after he was found asleep in a bathtub along with a dead man wearing a dog collar.

Christopher Barbour, a resident of the house where Cummins was found with the dead body, told police that he witnessed Cummins and the man–a friend of his named Dexter Paul Williams–drinking and snorting illegal narcotics on Sunday night. Barbour, Cummins, and Williams spent time together in a jacuzzi bathtub before Barbour left the pair alone and went to sleep on a couch in the living room.

When Barbour awoke the next morning, he heard snoring coming from the bathroom and entered to find Cummins asleep in the bathtub–now empty of water–with Williams’s body slumped behind him.  When Cummins eventually awoke, he discovered that Williams was not breathing and his face was discolored. Read more