Dianna Taylor said she last spoke to her brother, James “Jimmy” Whitehurst, the day before he was killed.

Whitehurst, 50, had lived in Maine for five years but moved to his sister’s home in Batesville, Ark., in May after splitting with his common-law wife, Taylor, also of Batesville, Taylor said Wednesday.

Whitehurst had returned to Maine seeking custody of his two youngest children, Taylor said.

Whitehurst leaves four children, Juanita, 7; Jacqueline, 10; Jim, 15; and Jamie 16.

Whitehurst spent much of his adult life in California and Florida, his sister said.

He had been in the salvage business, but was drawing Social Security because of his disabilities, she said.

Taylor said Whitehurst was hoping to return to Arkansas as soon as he regained custody of his children.

“He loved his kids dearly,” she said.

The youngest of three children, two boys and a girl, Whitehurst was born in San Diego. But since their father was in the Marines for 35 years, the family never stayed too long in one place, Taylor said.

Polio at age 3

Whitehurst was stricken with polio when he was 3 and spent three years in an iron lung in a Washington, D.C., hospital.

His ailment seemed to make him determined to prove that he could do things, his sister said. Despite a bad limp, as a child, he danced and biked and played.

Taylor described her brother as a daredevil, who cut his casts off, played wheelchair basketball, and once was hospitalized after winning a $20 bet by biking down a steep hillside in southern California.

As an adult he loved all-terrain vehicles.

Taylor said that during their last conversation, Whitehurst spoke of going four-wheeling with another man, she said.

Whitehurst was friends with Black Bear Bed and Breakfast owner Julie Bullard. She gave him free lodging; in return, he helped her paint and do other repairs, Taylor said.

“She was helping him get his kids back, and Jimmy in turn was helping her,” Taylor said. “I can’t believe someone would do this to him. The news we’ve heard has been devastating.”

Burial close to home

She plans to bury her brother near the high school in Batesville so he’s close to home and his children can see his grave, Taylor said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.