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Thread: Justin Gray Reynolds Sentenced to Life in Prison in 2014 NC Murder of Jeanette Thut and Donna Gore

  1. #1
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Justin Gray Reynolds Sentenced to Life in Prison in 2014 NC Murder of Jeanette Thut and Donna Gore


    Jeanette Nancy Merritt Thut





    Death penalty still in play for duo charged in 2014 Columbus County killings

    By Deuce Niven
    The Fayetteville Observer

    WHITEVILLE - Suspects in the slayings of two women more than a year ago were told they could face the death penalty as they appeared before a judge for the first time Thursday.

    Justin Gray Reynolds, 28, who has had addresses on Bitmore Road in Brunswick and most recently on Lee Ward Road in Nakina, and Megan Alicia Haynes, 27, of Howard Cox Road in Tabor City, were each charged late
    Wednesday with two counts of murder in the October 2014 killings of Jeanette Nancy Thut, 74, and Donna Lee Gore, 55, at their home on Blacksmith Road near Bolton.

    Reynolds was Gore's son, a news release from the Columbus County Sheriff's Office said.

    Grisly find

    Family members who had last seen Thut on Oct. 24, 2014, reported her missing 11 days later, on Nov 4. A deputy who went to Thut's home, while looking around the grounds, noticed a "foul odor" coming from a storage building, Columbus County District Attorney Jon David said during a first appearance hearing for Reynolds.

    Detectives found the bodies of both women inside that building, David said, Thut wrapped in a piece of carpet or blanket with 15 to 17 stab wounds. Gore was found on the concrete floor. She had been strangled to death, the prosecutor said.

    Sheriff's detectives working on the case developed new leads and evidence just this week, David said.

    "The wheels of justice turn slow," David said earlier Thursday, "but justice never sleeps."

    Motive

    Determining motive isn't necessary in a criminal case, David said during a news conference held just before the court hearings.

    "You can chase motive all over the courtroom and never catch it," David said.

    David would not discuss motive or details of the killings during the news conference.

    "We do our talking in the courtroom," he said.

    David alluded to theft, and the possibility of getting caught, as a motive during the hearing.

    Reynolds and Haynes were living in a mobile home on the Thut property at the time of the killings, David said. He said Thut had discovered that the young couple had stolen some of her property, and "was in the process of notifying the Columbus County Sheriff's Office when she was killed."

    Both Reynolds and Haynes took property from the Thut home and sold it at pawn shops in the days following her death, David said. Haynes also is facing credit card fraud charges in Bladen County, accused of using Thut's credit card in Elizabethtown after her death, the prosecutor said.

    Death penalty

    A "death penalty panel" made of up senior prosecutors will meet in the coming weeks to determine whether the state will seek the death penalty against Reynolds, Haynes or both, David said. That decision could come in about a month, he said.

    Though both Reynolds and Haynes were calm before the judge, Haynes appeared confused and sad, and Reynolds could be heard cursing after he was escorted by deputies out of the courtroom.

    No bail

    District Court Judge Pauline Hankins heard Reynolds' charges first, and appointed Harold G. "Butch" Pope to represent him.

    Retired Superior Court Judge William C. "Bill" Gore was appointed to represent Haynes, after declining to represent Reynolds. Gore explained that he'd already represented Haynes in another case.

    Pope asked Hankins for a "reasonable bond" for Reynolds, noting that no decision has been made on seeking the death penalty.

    Hankins denied Pope's request, ordering that Reynolds remain in custody without bail.

    Gore, after hearing David outline specifics of the case during Reynolds' hearing, said he would "stipulate" to no bail for his client, eliminating the need for the prosecutor to explain why bail should be denied.

    David agreed, but quickly added that Haynes had tried to escape through a rear window of her home when deputies came to arrest her, eliciting an excited "objection" from Gore that abruptly halted the prosecutor's explanation.

    Probable cause hearings for both Reynolds and Haynes are scheduled Feb. 25.

    http://www.fayobserver.com/news/crim...65bfe3512.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    DA will seek the death penalty for suspect in 2014 double murder

    Prosecutors in Columbus County will seek the death penalty for one of the suspects in a 2014 double murder case.

    Justin Reynolds and Megan Haynes were arrested in February in connection to the murders of Jeanette Thut and Donna Gore.

    Reynolds, who is Gore's son, and Haynes both face two counts of first-degree murder.

    At a press conference held earlier this year, Columbus County District Attorney Jon David said he would consider seeking the death penalty in this case.

    We’ve learned the DA will seek the death penalty for Reynolds.

    Thut’s daughter, Kathy Hensley, said she was relieved to hear of the decision.

    “What they did to them, our whole family thinks they deserve the death penalty,” said Hensley. “If they don’t get it, they definitely deserve life without parole.”

    Hensley said it could be years before the trial begins. She said forensic testing is still taking place and it could be a long time before the results are returned for a trial.

    Hensley said her mother was good friends with Gore. The two had moved in together in a home in Bolton. Shortly after, Hensley’s mother let Reynolds and Hayes move into a nearby camper of hers so they could “get on their feet.”

    Gore was reportedly strangled while Thut was stabbed about 17 times. Investigators found their bodies in a storage building behind Thut’s house on Blacksmith Road in Bolton on Nov. 3, 2014.

    “My mother gave them a place to live rent-free,” she said. “She loved them like a grandmother and for them to go in their home and do this, it’s unbelievable.”

    Hensley lives in Virginia but has been making trips back and forth to attend court hearings on the case. She is also working to become a victim’s court advocate in Virginia, so she can help other families going through similar situations.

    http://www.wect.com/story/32291972/d...-double-murder

  3. #3
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    May 20, 2019

    TRIAL BEGINS IN 2014 COLUMBUS COUNTY DOUBLE MURDER


    By Matt Bennett
    wwaytv3.com

    COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A suspect in a 2014 Columbus County double murder went to trial today more than three years after she was arrested.

    Megan Haynes and her boyfriend at the time, Justin Reynolds, were arrested in 2016 for the murder of Reynolds’ mother Donna Gore and Jeannette Thut.

    On May 8, Reynolds pleaded guilty to two counts of first degree murder. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

    The District Attorney’s Office says jury selection for Haynes was scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. Monday

    https://www.wwaytv3.com/2019/05/20/t...double-murder/

  4. #4
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mastro Titta's Avatar
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    Reynolds sentenced to life in prison for double murder

    by Jefferson Weaver
    The News Reporter

    Justin Gray Reynolds will spend the rest of his life in prison for the 2014 killings of his mother and and another woman.

    Reynolds accepted a plea deal in Columbus County Superior Court Wednesday (today). He was facing the death penalty.

    His co-defendant and then girlfriend, Megan Alicia Haynes, will stand trial May 20.

    The bodies of Reynolds’ mother, Donna Lee Gore, and Jeanette Nancy Thut, 74, were found in a storage building at Gore’s Blacksmith Road home on Nov. 4, 2014. Thut had been stabbed, and Gore was strangled to death, according to investigators.

    The bodies were discovered by a deputy performing a welfare check on the home after a missing persons report was filed.

    Reynolds and Haynes were living in a trailer on the Gore property at the time of the murders. They were arrested for the crimes in 2016.

    Reynolds apologized to his siblings as well as Thut’s relatives in the courtroom. He told them that he felt he deserved the death penalty, but wanted to spare his family the pain of a trial.

    https://nrcolumbus.com/reynolds-sent...double-murder/

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