Prosecutors in Caldwell County say they plan to seek the death penalty against a man accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend.
The bodies of 19-year-old Harlie Carter and 21-year-old Kevin Shatley were found in a burned vehicle in early June in Rhodhiss.
The Caldwell County Clerk of Court tells WBTV that State announced Friday during a Rule 24 Hearing that it planned to seek the death penalty against 23-year-old Justin Ray Hester.
Hester was indicted in June on two counts of murder and one count of burning personal property. Dylan Teeters who is charged as an accessory after the fact and Matthew Powell who faces the same charge both denied being involved with the incident.
"I didn't do nothing," said Justin Hester. "It's a misunderstanding," he said as he was led into the courthouse back in June.
Sheriff Alan Jones would not speculate as to the motive in the case but says the investigation is not over and "We'll be at this awhile." Investigators indicated that Hester was the former boyfriend of Harlie Carter.
Authorities believe the murders happened in a pull off along Dudley Shoals Road and that the car and bodies were then moved several miles away to Rhodhiss. The car was discovered down Duke Power Road. It had been burned using an accelerant, said detectives.
Floyd Carter came to court in June to see the suspects in the courtroom. "I'm so devastated, I don't know what I'm gonna do," he said. "This thing has left a hole in my heart."
Ashley Hilton told WBTV that she was a close friend of Shatley and may have been one of the last to see the couple alive.
Hilton said she saw the couple on the morning they were killed. "Kevin told me they were going to see Justin about some of that money that was owed to them and that they would be right back."
Family members say they believe Harley had loaned Hester thousand dollars from an accident settlement she had received and wanted the money back. After the couple left to meet Justin, said Hilton, "They never came back."
http://www.wbtv.com/global/story.asp?s=12832295
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