GASTON, N.C. — Deputies say an elderly couple in Northampton County, North Carolina, were shot and killed and deputies believe it was a relative who pulled the trigger.
The Northampton County Sheriff's Office said deputies were called to a home outside of Gaston late Thursday night. They arrived to find a 72-year-old man and his 70-year-old wife both dead in their front yard, suffering gunshot wounds to the head from a shotgun fired point-blank range. Investigators learned the suspect had stolen the victims' truck and fled the scene.
The stolen truck was found in a hotel parking lot in Roanoke Rapids early Friday morning and police arrested 35-year-old Ryvaries Butcher. Investigators said Butcher was a close neighbor and relative of the victims.
Butcher is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and felony larceny of a motor vehicle.
Deputies said the motive of the shooting remains unclear, and the homicides remain under investigation.