MANTEO, N.C. — The family of a man shot last year by a Dare County Sheriff's deputy is disputing autopsy reports that claim it was a stab wound and not the deputy's gunshots that caused his death.
On October 2, 2023, authorities received reports of alleged trespassing on Burnside Road in the Town of Manteo. There, deputies discovered 44-year-old Demetrius Selby outside a property holding a knife. Deputies eventually fired several rounds at Selby after he allegedly came at them with the knife he was holding.
According to a newly-released autopsy the medical examiner "believes Sylvester Selby's cause of death is a stab wound." A separate investigative document by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) said that on that night, "at some point a knife was pulled and Mr. Selby was stabbed" after he tried to enter the Manteo home.
The autopsy report indicates the homeowner stabbed Selby. Both reports explain that deputies recovered two knives from the scene, however, the gun used by the deputy is also listed under "means of death" by the OCME as well as the knife.
On Friday, attorneys representing the Selby family issued a statement calling into question the reports' findings, and also renewed calls for the sheriff's office to release body camera footage worn by its deputies on the night of the shooting.
"The reality is that, even after he had been stabbed, Mr. Selby was coherent enough to follow the deputy’s orders and exit the house. He was coherent enough to speak with them, to respond clearly and put his hands up," the statement read in part.
The statement goes on to claim that Selby was "so coherent" after being shot once that the deputy allegedly "felt the need to shoot him two more times and it was only then that Mr. Selby died laying on the ground choking on his own blood."
The statement concludes it was the bullets and not the knife that fatally wounded Selby.
"The body camera video of the shooting speaks for itself. The Dare County Sheriff’s Office could put this argument to rest right now by releasing it."
Selby's family previously filed a civil lawsuit claiming Selby's constitutional rights were violated and that his death was wrongful.
At this time, neither the homeowner who allegedly stabbed Selby nor the deputy who fired the shots face charges.