Fort Worth Firefighter Charged With Murder in Arkansas

A Fort Worth firefighter has been charged with second-degree murder for allegedly fatally stabbing a 23-year-old man in the neck.

Firefighter Shea O'Neill, 40, told investigators in Hot Springs, Ark., that a woman picked him up and gave him a ride.

O'Neill told investigators two men were hiding in the backseat of that vehicle and began repeatedly punching him in the head. O'Neill claims he grabbed a gun to defend himself, but was disarmed by one of the men.

O'Neill then said he pulled out a knife and stabbed 23-year-old Eston Hogue in the neck as he defended himself.

Hogue later died in the hospital. O'Neill was admitted to a hospital as well for injuries the officers said were consistent with being beaten.

The passengers in the vehicle told a different story. They claim they picked up O'Neill to smoke marijuana and then got into a fight when they stopped to use a bathroom.

The investigation continues in Arkansas and O'Neill is expected in court next Tuesday to face the second-degree murder charge.

The Fort Worth Fire Department released the following statement on the investigation:

"The Fire Department Office of Professional Standards is investigating to confirm this information, but has not been able to obtain any official documentation. Because this is an active investigation, the Fire Department will make no further comments at this time."

O'Neill has had run-ins with the law before. In 2010, he was arrested after a suspected drunken driving crash that was reported by NBC 5 and the Star-Telegram. O'Neill allegedly crashed his truck into the back of a car that had stopped in the westbound lanes of Airport Freeway in Bedford due to heavy traffic. That arrest was not found on court records by NBC 5 researchers, but a previous conviction in 1993 for driving while intoxicated was found.

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