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LEGGETT, N.C. – North Carolina authorities said on Friday that they had accused a man of murder in the shooting death of the mayor of a small town and his wife, found dead at home.
Edgecombe County sheriff, Cleveland Atkinson, said at a press conference that Keith Williams, 25, of Tarboro, was charged with first degree murder. The sheriff said that another person of interest in the case was in detention for unrelated charges.
A sheriff's spokesperson did not immediately respond to an email asking if Williams had a lawyer, and a phone list for the suspect was not found.
Teresa Summerlin, Commissioner of Leggett Town, told several media that the couple were Mayor Gary Skelton and Jackie Dawn Skelton.
Atkinson told reporters that two people were found dead Thursday at the Skeltons' address with gunshot wounds. The sheriff's office has already stated that he does not publish the names because of the wishes of the family.
Summerlin says that Jackie Skelton was an oncology nurse in an Edgecombe County hospital and did not come to work on Thursday. His colleagues asked for a welfare check, which led to the discovery of the bodies.
Gary Skelton was a banker at BB & T in Rocky Mount until his retirement. He was in his second term as mayor of the city of 60 people, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) east of Raleigh.
"I can not say enough about them," said Summerlin at the Charlotte Observer. "They were the embodiment of good people … it's devastating, it's nauseating, this community has lost two very special people."
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