north carolina | My Crime Library

Timmy Grooms North Carolina Death Row

Timmy Grooms was sentenced to death by the State of North Carolina for the murder of Krista Kay Godwin According to court documents Timmy Grooms would kidnap, sexually assault and murder Krista Kay Godwin. Timmy Grooms would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

North Carolina Death Row Inmate List

Timmy Grooms 2021 Information

Offender Number:	0158506
Inmate Status:	ACTIVE
Probation/Parole/Post Release Status:	INACTIVE
Gender:	MALE
Race:	WHITE
Ethnic Group:	EUROPEAN/N.AM./AUSTR
Birth Date:	10/10/1962
Age:	58
Current Location:	CENTRAL PRISON

Timmy Grooms More News

The State’s evidence tended to show that defendant and Krista Kay Godwin were neighbors in Laurel Hill, North Carolina. On 14 February 1994, Godwin was planning an intimate Valentine’s Day dinner with her fiancé, Michael McDaniel. Godwin spent the afternoon with a friend, Myra Martin. Around 6:30 p.m. Godwin spoke on the telephone with her mother and with McDaniel, who called Godwin from work during his 6:30 break. Godwin and Martin then went to Rita Quick’s house for approximately thirty or forty-five minutes. While at Quick’s house, Godwin ate some dinner and phoned her mother. Godwin and Martin returned to Godwin’s home, and Martin left around 7:30 p.m. Godwin called her father between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. and told her father that she was waiting for McDaniel to come home from work.

McDaniel attempted to phone Godwin from work around 10:00 p.m. When no one answered his repeated attempts to call Godwin, McDaniel became concerned and left work early. McDaniel arrived at Godwin’s home around 10:25 p.m. The front door was unlocked; the lights were on; the dogs were in the yard; and Godwin’s shoes, purse, and jacket were in the house, but Godwin was missing. McDaniel phoned Martin, Godwin’s father, and the police. Martin then phoned the police, the hospital, and Quick. Godwin’s father helped McDaniel search the neighborhood for Godwin.

Meanwhile, around 6:00 p.m. Chad Miller noticed defendant straddling his bike in some bushes near Godwin’s house. Miller called out to defendant, and defendant rode away on his bike without answering. Miller proceeded to downtown Laurel Hill, where he sat on the steps of an abandoned building and drank beer with defendant. Miller walked defendant home, leaving defendant at the house defendant shared with Hope Norton at approximately 9:00 p.m. Around 10:00 or 10:15 p.m. Kenneth Boswell noticed defendant and Godwin standing together on a street corner. At approximately 1:00 a.m. Shirley Johnson nearly hit defendant with her car as he ran down the street from the direction of Mildred’s Florist Shop. Johnson told law enforcement officers that defendant was wearing a blue jacket, a dark hat, and light-colored jeans. Defendant then returned home twice for short periods, both times without the blue jacket that he frequently wore and that he had been wearing earlier.

When defendant returned home the next morning, his face was scratched; and he was bleeding from a long cut on his arm. Defendant told Norton that two black men had assaulted him, that his dog had scratched his face, that he had gotten scratched riding his bicycle under a tree, and that he had gotten scratched in some bushes while breaking into a house. Defendant also told Norton that he had thrown away his jacket. Later, defendant told Norton that he had buried the other clothing he had worn that night and that the police would never find this other clothing.

On the morning of 16 February 1994 Marvin Radford, Jr., discovered a severed human hand when he climbed onto the roof of Mildred’s Florist Shop to patch some leaks. On that same day a search team looked for Godwin in a nearby wooded area. As he walked through the wooded area, Deputy Thomas Butler discovered a negligee. Deputy Butler continued to search the surrounding area until he saw human toes sticking up from some pine straw. Deputy Butler then recognized the outline of a human body, which was later uncovered and identified as Godwin.

The pathologist who performed the autopsy on Godwin found a total of twelve stab wounds on Godwin’s body, all of which were inflicted by the same instrument, possibly a pocketknife. One stab wound perforated Godwin’s aorta and would have caused Godwin’s death within minutes; however, several other wounds that penetrated Godwin’s chest cavity were potentially fatal. The pathologist found numerous linear scratches and scrapes on Godwin’s back and on the back of Godwin’s legs that were consistent with the dragging of the body. Additionally, Godwin’s face exhibited scrapes and extensive bruising around the eyes and nose resulting from blunt-force trauma inflicted while Godwin was still alive. Internal bleeding and hemorrhaging in the tissues of the neck indicated that Godwin had been choked before she was stabbed. Vaginal smears revealed the presence of intact sperm. Godwin’s right hand had been sawed off at the forearm; and Godwin’s left hand had been partially sawed off, then the bone had been forcibly broken or snapped. The contents of Godwin’s stomach indicated that Godwin had eaten her last meal within four or five hours of her death.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/nc-supreme-court/1127456.html

Johnny Hyde North Carolina Death Row

Johnny Hyde was sentenced to death by the State of North Carolina for the robbery and murder of Leslie Howard. According to court documents Johnny Hyde and two codefendents James Blake, and Joel Coleman decided to rob Leslie Howard and in the process of the robbery the victim would be stabbed to death.

North Carolina Death Row Inmate List

Johnny Hyde 2021 Information

Offender Number:	0542024
Inmate Status:	ACTIVE
Probation/Parole/Post Release Status:	INACTIVE
Gender:	MALE
Race:	AMERICAN INDIAN/ALASKAN NATIVE
Ethnic Group:	AMERICAN INDIAN
Birth Date:	07/26/1972
Age:	48
Current Location:	CENTRAL PRISON

Johnny Hyde More News

Based on defendant’s statement to Onslow County Sheriff’s Detective W. Len Condry and Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown, the State’s evidence tended to show that on the night of 1 August 1996, defendant was drinking with James Blake and Joel Coleman at a shed next to defendant’s house. Defendant heard Blake and Coleman discussing where they could obtain other drugs since the blue pills that they were ingesting were not intoxicating enough. Blake and Coleman mentioned that Leslie Egbert Howard, the victim, always had drugs in his residence. Defendant then listened as Blake and Coleman planned the break-in of the victim’s mobile home; the victim was considered an easy target since he was always alone. Sometime after midnight, Blake and Coleman asked defendant for his assistance in breaking into the victim’s residence to steal “weed.” Defendant agreed, and they gathered several items from defendant’s shed. Blake and Coleman dressed in camouflage-style coats, gloves, and toboggans. Defendant carried a knife and a hand saw, while Blake carried an ax head and a pipe.

Defendant, Blake, and Coleman then walked to the victim’s mobile home. Blake used the ax head and pipe to pry open the front door. Defendant led the way down the hallway to the victim’s bedroom and found the victim sitting up in the bed. The victim then lunged at defendant, and defendant stabbed the victim several times with the knife. When the victim fell to his knees, either Blake or Coleman hit the victim in the back of the head with the pipe. The victim then fell to the floor on his back. Defendant stabbed the victim in the side and in the back with a drill bit from the shed. Defendant then began cutting the victim’s throat with the hand saw until the sight of blood and the foul smell became nauseating. Sheriff Brown asked defendant about his intention when he used the saw. Defendant replied, “I guess to kill him. I guess we thought he would tell the next day if we didn’t after all we did.” Defendant further stated, “I went over there that night just to be the muscle to help them get the herb. I had no intention of killing [the victim] when we went over there.” Coleman resumed cutting the victim’s throat for about three minutes while Blake was in the living room keeping a lookout. Someone then yelled that a car was approaching, and then all three men ran from the victim’s mobile home back to defendant’s shed. Blake set fire to all the weapons in a barrel to “burn off the blood” and then placed them in a trash receptacle to be picked up the next day.

When defendant returned to his residence, his sister saw that defendant was covered in blood and asked him what had happened. Defendant told his sister that he thought that he and the others “had just killed [the victim].” Defendant’s sister assisted defendant in washing his bloody clothing. All the clothing came clean except for a small spot of blood on the T-shirt he had worn.

On 2 August 1996 the victim’s father discovered the victim’s body. Shortly thereafter members of the Onslow County Sheriff’s Department and the Onslow County Emergency Medical Services arrived. An emergency medical technician determined that the victim was deceased. The cause of death was a combination of multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen, blunt trauma to the head, and massive lacerations to the neck. None of the weapons used to kill the victim were recovered at the murder scene.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/nc-supreme-court/1454806.html

Patrick Steen North Carolina Death Row

Patrick Steen was sentenced to death by the State of North Carolina for the murder of Virginia Frost. According to court documents Patrick Steen would break into the home of eighty year old Virginia Frost, attempted to sexually assault her before murdering the woman and robbing her home. Patrick Steen would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

North Carolina Death Row Inmate List

Patrick Steen 2021 Information

Offender Number:	0388640
Inmate Status:	ACTIVE
Probation/Parole/Post Release Status:	INACTIVE
Gender:	MALE
Race:	WHITE
Ethnic Group:	EUROPEAN/N.AM./AUSTR
Birth Date:	12/31/1969
Age:	51
Current Location:	CENTRAL PRISON

Patrick Steen More News

At trial, the State’s evidence tended to show that on 29 February 1996, shortly before 4:00 p.m., Officer Gordon Ogilvie of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department responded to a report of a broken window at 2626 Tanglewood Lane. The victim, eighty-year-old Virginia Frost, had resided at the residence for forty years. When Officer Ogilvie arrived at Mrs. Frost’s residence, a neighbor, Susan Bankson, met him. She explained that her children had been playing in Mrs. Frost’s yard and found some broken glass. Ms. Bankson went to Mrs. Frost’s house and saw that the glass door leading to the sunroom was shattered. Ms. Bankson called Mrs. Frost’s daughter, Ann Copeland, and also the police.

Officer Richard Stahnke also arrived at the scene. The officers entered the victim’s house to determine if a break-in had occurred. Once inside, the officers noticed that the house appeared to have been ransacked. The officers then observed the lifeless body of Virginia Frost lying in a bathroom. Mrs. Frost was nude except for a shirt pulled up around her neck. The officers also observed what appeared to be dried blood on Mrs. Frost’s face and on one of her hands. There was a pool of blood around her head, and there appeared to be an indentation on her head as though she had been struck with some object. A pair of pantyhose was underneath Mrs. Frost’s body.

An autopsy performed on 1 March 1996 revealed contusions over the bridge of the victim’s nose, around her left eye and over the left side of her cheek; a laceration on the right side of her scalp; bruising over her head, neck, left arm, shoulder, chest and buttocks; and a broken tooth. The autopsy also revealed areas of hemorrhage around the brain, swelling and bruising of the brain, sixteen separate fractures to ten different ribs, and small tears in the inner lining of the chest. The autopsy report described the head injuries as blunt-trauma injuries caused when the body was impacted by something blunt. The report also stated that none of the blows would have been immediately fatal, and that Mrs. Frost would have survived for three to four hours. The cause of Mrs. Frost’s death was determined to be blunt-trauma injuries to her head due to an assault.

On the same day that the police discovered Mrs. Frost’s body, Officers A.J. Mullis and P.M. Ensminger of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department responded to a call concerning a man on a bicycle weaving on Randolph Road, which is less than two miles from the victim’s residence. The officers discovered the defendant, Patrick Joseph Steen, on a bicycle on the roadway, weaving back and forth through heavy traffic. The officers pulled defendant over on the side of the road and observed a large contusion running across defendant’s forehead and what appeared to be dried blood on his left cheek. The officers also noticed an odor of alcohol about defendant. After obtaining consent to search defendant, the officers found a driver’s license issued to a William H. Maynard and numerous credit cards with the same name. The officers also found a crack pipe and a marijuana pipe on defendant’s person. The officers arrested defendant for possession of drug paraphernalia and theft of the credit cards. Officer Mullis subsequently sent information about defendant to a homicide investigator looking into the murder of Mrs. Frost.

On 6 March 1996, defendant gave written consent for the search of the clothes he was wearing when he was arrested. Defendant was released from custody on 14 March 1996. On 16 March 1996, two of the murder investigators went to his home and asked defendant to accompany them to the Law Enforcement Center. Defendant was told he was not under arrest and was questioned about his whereabouts from 26 February to 29 February 1996. Defendant was subsequently placed under arrest for Mrs. Frost’s murder and was advised of his Miranda rights.

At trial, Henrietta Doster, an acquaintance of defendant’s, testified that in late February 1996, defendant showed her and her boyfriend, Charlie Davis, a small red television. Defendant also emptied the contents of a small blue tote bag which contained coins, buttons and a lady’s wallet. Doster looked at the wallet and saw an elderly lady’s driver’s license with the name “Virginia” on it. Davis gave defendant thirty dollars for the television.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/nc-supreme-court/1235704.html

Robert Brewington North Carolina Death Row

Robert Brewington was sentenced to death by the State of North Carolina for the murders of his nephew and grandmother. According to court documents Robert Brewington would pay Michael McKeithan and Vera Sue Lee a $1000 to burn down a house. The two codefendents would pour a large amount of gasoline into the home setting it on fire killing Brian Brewington and Frances Brewington. Robert Brewington would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

North Carolina Death Row Inmate List

Robert Brewington 2021 Information

Offender Number:	0584095
Inmate Status:	ACTIVE
Gender:	MALE
Race:	AMERICAN INDIAN/ALASKAN NATIVE
Ethnic Group:	EUROPEAN/N.AM./AUSTR
Birth Date:	05/17/1964
Age:	56
Current Location:	CENTRAL PRISON

Robert Brewington More News

At trial, the State’s evidence tended to show that defendant and Vera Sue Lee were engaged to be married. Defendant lived in Dunn, North Carolina, with his grandmother, Frances Brewington, who had adopted him as a child, and also with his eight-year-old nephew, Brian Brewington. On 21 April 1997, defendant took out two life insurance policies from Home Beneficial Life Insurance Company. One policy was on defendant’s brother, Patrick Brewington, for $75,000. The other policy was on Patrick’s son, Brian, for $58,552. Defendant forged Patrick’s signature on both policies and named himself as the beneficiary on both. On 29 May 1997, Lee and defendant made a deposit on a lot and mobile home, but the mortgage company refused to approve their loan.

After defendant took out the life insurance policies on Brian and Patrick, Lee met with her friend, Chris Wilson, and discussed the idea of killing Patrick Brewington to get money for a house. Lee offered to share $10,000 from the insurance proceeds with Wilson if they killed Patrick. A week later, Lee, Wilson, and defendant met to discuss killing Patrick, but Wilson refused to help. Lee, however, continued to talk about killing either Patrick or Brian Brewington during the weeks that followed. During this time, Lee also recruited Henry Michael McKeithan to help with the killing, promising him “$200 or $300 Wednesday and about a $1,000 in three to four months.”

On 1 June 1997, Lee and defendant discussed defendant’s plan for her to kill Frances and Brian Brewington. Defendant told Lee to make the crime look like a robbery, remove a few items such as the TV, stab Frances and Brian, and set the house on fire. On 11 June 1997, defendant and Lee went to an open-air market and bought a knife to use for the killings. During a telephone conversation that evening, defendant told Lee that he was ready for the plan to be carried out.

Around 4:49 a.m. on 12 June 1997, Lee and McKeithan, who had just driven by the Brewington residence and honked the horn to wake defendant, purchased two one-gallon jugs of distilled water at Winn-Dixie. They emptied the water from the jugs and refilled them with gasoline from the T-Mart on Cumberland Street. During this time, defendant dressed for work; collected the insurance policies and his best clothes for Frances’ and Brian’s funerals; and left the Brewington home, leaving the back door unlocked. Defendant drove to Hardee World where he met Lee, and defendant put his clothes in the trunk of Lee’s car. Defendant then drove to work while Lee and McKeithan drove to the Brewington residence.

When Lee and McKeithan arrived at the Brewington house, they parked the car in the driveway, put on rubber gloves, and entered the house through the back door, carrying the jugs of gasoline. Lee gave McKeithan the knife from the open-air market and told him to kill Brian while she killed Frances. Unable to stab Brian, McKeithan instead poured gasoline around the bedroom where the victims were sleeping. As McKeithan and Lee stood over them with knives, Frances and Brian Brewington woke up and started screaming. McKeithan stabbed Frances Brewington repeatedly and then ran to the car to get his lighter. While McKeithan was outside, Lee, who had stabbed Brian, lit a dishrag at the heater and ignited the gasoline in the bedroom. Although severely wounded, the Brewingtons continued to scream while Lee and McKeithan ran to the car and drove away. Lee and McKeithan buried the knife and burned their clothing and gloves at McKeithan’s house.

At approximately 6:15 a.m. that morning, Harnett County Sheriff’s Deputy Jerry Edwards saw smoke rising from the Brewington house. He called the fire department, then went to the house and tried to look into the windows, but the smoke was too thick for him to see inside. After the firefighters extinguished the fire, they notified Deputy Edwards that they had found two bodies in the bedroom. Deputy Edwards secured the scene after viewing the bodies and a jug of gasoline and lighter in the living room. Defendant had been summoned from work before the fire was extinguished. When he arrived at the house, defendant spoke with Deputy Edwards. Defendant told Deputy Edwards that he had left for work around 5:30 a.m., and that when he left, the only appliance running was the air conditioner. Defendant was also interviewed twice that day by Deputy Fire Marshal Jimmy Riddle. During the first interview around 8:05 a.m., defendant told Riddle that the microwave would sometimes “kick out” the circuit breakers and that there were several extension cords in the bedroom. Riddle terminated the interview because defendant seemed “very upset.” Around 12:20 that afternoon, Riddle again interviewed defendant, who stated that he had left the house by 5:30 a.m. and that he had run several errands before arriving at work. Defendant also stated that his grandmother had been having problems with the air conditioner lately and that he had not seen the jug of gasoline that had been found in the living room.

The preliminary investigation of the crime scene showed that the fire had been deliberately set with an accelerant which was poured on the floor of the bedroom. This conclusion was based on factors such as the “pour pattern” of the gasoline, the color of the smoke and flames, and the elimination of the electrical system and all appliances as possible sources of the fire. The investigation also revealed the knife wounds to Frances Brewington’s body. A knife handle and partial knife blade were also found under her body.

Following the investigation, defendant, McKeithan and Lee were arrested and charged. Pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 15A-926, the State elected to try defendant and McKeithan in a joint trial, and Lee was tried separately.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/nc-supreme-court/1140476.html

Rodney Taylor North Carolina Death Row

Rodney Taylor was sentenced to death by the State of North Carolina for the murder of Brian Troy. According to court documents Rodney Taylor would execute Brian Troy by shooting him in the back of the head over a fifty dollar debt. Rodney Taylor would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

North Carolina Death Row Inmate List

Rodney Taylor 2021 Information

Offender Number:	0472274
Inmate Status:	ACTIVE
Probation/Parole/Post Release Status:	INACTIVE
Gender:	MALE
Race:	BLACK/AFRICAN AMERICAN
Ethnic Group:	AFRICAN
Birth Date:	11/27/1971
Age:	49
Current Location:	CENTRAL PRISON

Rodney Taylor More News

At trial, the State’s evidence tended to show that on 1 January 1998, defendant and his brother, Kashene Taylor, left the Hillcrest Housing Complex in Wilmington, North Carolina, with Brian Troy shortly before 6:00 p.m. and drove to Bryan Road. Defendant and Troy got out of the car and talked briefly. As Troy knelt in the road, defendant shot him in the head and upper body. Defendant and Kashene Taylor then returned to apartment 4 in the Hillcrest Housing Complex.

The victim’s body was discovered by a passing motorist, who summoned the paramedics and police. When the paramedics arrived at 6:32 p.m., they found the victim’s lifeless body in the roadway. Officers from the Wilmington Police Department arrived shortly afterwards and secured the scene. An autopsy performed on the victim’s body on 2 January 1998 revealed gunshot wounds to the head and the hip. The cause of death was determined to be the gunshot wound to the head.

The victim’s father, Willie Troy, Jr. (Mr. Troy), testified that he dropped his son off between 5:00 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. on 1 January 1998 near the intersection of 13th and Mears Streets in Wilmington. He stated that his son had indicated to him that he was going to visit friends at apartment 4. Mr. Troy also testified that he gave his son $10.00 as he got out of the car and that his son was carrying a pager.

The victim sold drugs for defendant. Katie Coe, defendant’s girlfriend, testified that she told defendant that the victim had told her that he had spent the money he owed defendant. The victim told defendant that a member of the Wilmington Police Department’s city/county vice-narcotics team had confiscated the drugs from him. Sergeant Billy Maultsby of the Wilmington Police Department testified that Ms. Coe told him that defendant did not feel that the victim was being truthful about the drugs and money the victim owed defendant and that defendant was upset by the contradictory stories. Ms. Coe also testified that the victim left apartment 4 sometime before 6:00 p.m. to purchase marijuana. According to Ms. Coe, defendant and Kashene Taylor arrived shortly thereafter and left to find the victim. Veronica Roberts, Michael Coe’s girlfriend, testified that she, defendant, Kashene Taylor, Michael Coe, and Katie Coe were all present when the victim arrived. According to Ms. Roberts, defendant motioned for the victim to step outside, and Kashene Taylor followed them.

The victim was not with defendant when he returned to the apartment. Katie Coe testified that defendant was breathing hard when he returned. On the night of 1 January 1998, after Mr. Troy told the police of his son’s intention to visit his friends, the police went to apartment 4. Defendant, Michael Coe, and Katie Coe were present when the police arrived. The apartment occupants confirmed that the victim had been there that evening. On 2 January 1998, defendant and Katie Coe left Fayetteville, North Carolina, by bus for New York, New York. During the bus ride to New York, defendant told Ms. Coe that he had shot the victim. Ms. Coe returned to Wilmington from New York after calling the Wilmington Police Department. A magistrate issued a warrant for defendant’s arrest on 8 January 1998. Defendant was subsequently located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

In Florida, defendant was presented to a Broward County committing magistrate on 9 January 1998. On 11 January 1998, two Wilmington Police Department detectives interviewed defendant in the Broward County jail. At that time, defendant gave taped and written confessions of the murder. Defendant waived extradition and was returned to North Carolina. The arrest warrant was served upon defendant on 23 January 1998.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/nc-supreme-court/1401277.html