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The mayor of Leggett, North Carolina, and his wife were found dead in their home in the city, which has a population of about five dozen, police said Friday after an arrest in the case.
"We were able to resolve this double homicide in less than eight hours," said Edgecombe County Sheriff, Clee Atkinson, at a press conference Friday.
The sheriff said the bodies of 70-year-old Gary Eugene Skelton Sr. and his wife, 66-year-old Jackie Dawn Skelton, were found Thursday morning at their home on Highway 33 in North Carolina. Wednesday, the police said.
Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office Keith Earl Williams, 25, of Tarboro, has been arrested and faces charges of first degree murder.
Keith Earl Williams, 25, of Tarboro, was arrested and charged with first degree murder. He is being held at the Edgecombe County Detention Center. A second person is detained on unrelated charges, police said.
Atkinson, who revealed that the Skeltons had been shot, said that their bodies had been discovered following a request for verification of their well-being. According to Raleigh's WRAL News, this request was made Thursday by Jackie Skelton's colleagues at Vidant Oncology, after she failed to run for her oncology nursing position.
According to the Charlotte Observer, Gary Skelton Sr., a retired banker, was serving his second term at Leggett Town Hall, which has 55 residents. He and his wife left Georgia about 20 years ago. They survive three adult sons and several grandchildren.
"They would have given them the shirt on their backs," said Teresa Summerlin, a city commissioner, at WNCN News in Raleigh. "For this to happen in this small community. The work that man has done for this community. People simply do not realize that he has invested so many hours of work.
Atkinson did not reveal any alleged motive for the murders.
Summerlin told the WNCN that the Skelton were last seen on Wednesday night when they went out for dinner with another couple.
"It's unimaginable what they came home," she said. "That's what makes me sick – how they must have felt."
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