This undated picture provided by the Bentonville, Ark. Police Department shows Jersey Bridgeman, whose body was found in a vacant house two days before Thanksgiving in Bentonville, Ark.
BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Officials say the man arrested as a suspect in the killing of a 6-year-old Arkansas girl was a family friend.
Bentonville Police Chief Jon Simpson on Tuesday described 28-year-old Zachary Holly as "an acquaintance."
Simpson told The Associated Press that Holly and his wife lived next door to where Jersey Bridgeman was staying.
Jersey was reported missing the morning of Nov. 20. Minutes after a search began, her body was discovered in an abandoned house two doors from her home. A high-profile child abuse case last year sent Jersey's father and stepmother to prison.
Holly is charged with capital murder, kidnapping and residential burglary.
Simpson said Holly and his wife do not have children, but Holly's wife has a child who is "pretty much the same age as our victim."
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