UPDATED: Corbin man arrested in connection with 25-year-old murder case

Earnest Lee Hensley was arrested Thursday for the murder of a Richmond man in 1985. He is being held in the Harlan County Detention Center on a $1 million cash bond.

A Corbin man has been arrested by Kentucky State Police in connection with a 25-year-old murder case.

According to KSP Post 10 in Harlan, 59-year-old Earnest L. Hensley of Corbin (formerly of the Sawbriar community in Harlan County) was taken into custody at around 2:00 p.m. Thursday. He has been charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence. He is accused of the 1985 murder of Harry Miller Maupin, of Richmond, who was 40-years-old at the time of his death.

According to KSP Post 10 Public Afffair Trooper Walt Meachum, new information in the case that led to Hensley’s arrest "fell out of the sky."

"We got some new information, that’s really all I can say about it," Meachum said. "It was just some information we received that matched up with everything we knew about the case … It probably was related to the body. It was information that was just handed to us."

Meachum said Maupin’s remains have never been recovered, and that police were not yet attempting to find Maupin’s body. He said a search may be conducted in the future.

"We will see what happens as far as the investigation goes," Meachum said.

Authorities questioned Hensley for several hours after his arrest Thursday. Meachum said he did not think Hensley admitted to the murder.

Police say Hensley and Maupin worked together in the coal industry in Harlan County at the time of Maupin’s death.

Trooper Jack Howard and Detective Denny Pace initiated a case on June 18, 1985 after Maupin was reported missing from his job near Lejunior, KY. Howard has since deceased. Pace retired about 15 years ago.

Hensley was arrested Thursday by Detective Michael Cornett of KSP Post 10. It is the third cold case arrest KSP Post 10 investigators have made this year.

Hensley is being held in the Harlan County Detention Center on a $1 million cash bond.

Assisting Cornett in the investigation was Trooper Jason Young, Sergeant Jackie Pickerell and Lieutenant Micky Hatmaker. The case is still under investigation by Detective Michael Cornett.