Arrest made in double murder of Eastern Alamance football player, Efland teen
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office has made an arrest in the September murders of Devin Clark, 18, and Lyric Woods, 14, according to a Wednesday afternoon news release.
The sheriff’s office says it cannot release further information about the identity of a 17-year-old suspect as long as they are being charged as a juvenile including where, when and by whom they were apprehended.
If a district court judge finds there is probable cause that a 16 or 17-year-old committed first-degree murder, the case will be transferred to the superior court, where it will be a matter of public record. The suspect has the right to appeal that transfer, which can take 10 days.
While this lets the communities on the Orange-Alamance county line know there is a suspect in custody, there are many unanswered questions more than two weeks after the teens’ murders.
The sheriff’s office reported the two people riding ATVs found the bodies of the two teens on Sunday, Sept. 19 at about 3 p.m. on a trail near the intersection of Buckhorn and Yarborough roads outside of Mebane in Orange County. The site is about two and a half miles from Woods’ home, according to WRAL.
They had both been reported missing over the weekend, with Woods' family reporting her missing to the sheriff’s office that Saturday, and Clark’s reporting him missing to Mebane Police that Sunday hours before the bodies were found, according to the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office announced it was seeking a juvenile petition against a 17-year-old – the equivalent of an arrest warrant – on two counts of first-degree murder two days after finding Clark and Woods.
Clark was a senior at Eastern Alamance High School and was a stand-out on the school’s football team as a wide receiver last season.
Woods, 14, was in her first year at Cedar Ridge High School in Hillsborough.
Their families said the two were friends and were seen getting into a vehicle with a third person that Friday night, according to WRAL. A person living near the trail where Clark and Woods were found told the station they heard up to 20 gunshots that night.
While the sheriff’s office will not say who apprehended the suspect, Sheriff Charles Blackwood in the release did thank the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office, the Burlington Police Department, the Efland Fire Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Viper Unit for the North Carolina State Highway Patrol for their assistance.
This article originally appeared on Times-News: Arrest made in double murder of Eastern Alamance football player, Efland teen
