Donald Hux: Huckabee Murder Suspect Killed in Deadly Police Shootout

Donald Hux, the wanted man suspected of killing former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's first cousin Sandy and kidnapping his family, was reportedly shot and killed in a deadly shootout with police on Sunday night. Hux, who was wanted on capital murder, kidnapping, burglary and firearms charges, was 36.

An arrest warrant was issued for Hux on Sunday after police found the body of Sandy Carl Huckabee in his home at 2304 Forrest Park Drive in Arkadelphia, Ark. He was killed in his sleep at about 4 a.m. Former Gov. Huckabee, who was also a GOP presidential candidate in 2008, reached out to the Associated Press in an e-mail.

I've been in Washington all day, Huckabee said. Sandy was my first cousin. Our mothers were sisters and we grew up as kids in Hope, [Arkansas]. It's been a horrible day for everyone, especially those kids.

Hux reportedly maimed Sandy Huckabee because his wife, Amy, was Hux's ex-wife. After killing Sandy, Hux then abducted Amy and her three children and took them in his tan 2005 Chevrolet extended cab truck to El Dorado, Ark., roughly 80 miles south of Arkadelphia. Hux decided to drop the kids off in nearby Union County, where his parents live; the children were not hurt.

Late Sunday night, after a state-wide alert was issued to Arkansas authorities, Union County police found Hux just west of El Dorado. The details aren't confirmed, but initial reports say the police found Hux leaving his parents' home in the Parkers Chapel community. After pursuing Hux for a short time, a deadly shootout suddenly erupted, and Hux was killed in the gunfire. Police said they found Amy's body, although they offered no details into the cause of her demise.

No police officers were injured in the gunfight.

Hux was described as a 5'10 white male, weighing 190 lbs with dark hair and a dark mustache. He had been in and out of jail in recent years, particularly in Texas and Louisiana. He was once charged with two counts of attempted aggravated sexual assault, but most recently, Hux had pled guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge in Caddo Parish, La., in October.

Sandy Huckabee's Facebook page said he was a self-employed psychological examiner in Arkadelphia, who had also worked for ECCEL in El Dorado performing similar duties. Huckabee graduated from Ouachita Baptist University in 1990 with degrees in psychology and biblical studies, and received a master of science degree in clinical psychology from Northwestern State University in 1992.

Huckabee's wife Amy, a graduate of Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, had a degree in elementary education and worked as a schoolteacher in Arkadelphia. She was also a special ed teacher at the South Arkansas Developmental Center for Children and Families.