Buncombe County Sheriff identifies 2 victims in gunshot homicide investigation
ASHEVILLE - Buncombe County Sheriff's Office has identified the two victims in an ongoing shooting investigation.
Sandy Elizabeth Torrey, 26, and Bryan Emmanuel Khopkar, 39, were found dead Dec. 19 in a car parked in an Arden-area Shell gas station, which has a Fletcher postal address.
Both were from Henderson County, according to a Dec. 18 news release.
Next of kin have been notified, according to Sheriff spokesperson Aaron Sarver.
"Sheriff Miller and the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Ms. Torrey and Mr. Khopkar," Sarver said. "Next of kin were notified prior to the release of this information."
Two suspects were identified shortly after Torrey and Khopkar were found before 7 a.m. Dec. 19.
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Cody Wayne Dockins, of Buncombe County, and Godiet Corral, 32, of Henderson County, are both being charged with first-degree murder related to the incident.
Warrants filed for Corral's arrest show he's facing two first-degree murder charges. No bond amount or court date was on file as of early Dec. 20.
The sheriff's office first publicized the incident on Twitter about 9 a.m.
Before 7am this this morning two individuals were found deceased in a vehicle due to apparent gunshot wounds. The shooting occurred into parking lot of a gas station located at 400 Mills Gap Road. We believe this is an isolated incident. (1/2)
— Buncombe County Sheriff's Office (@BuncombeSheriff) December 19, 2022
In a pair of tweets Dec. 19 from the Sheriff's Office account said two people "were found deceased in a vehicle due to apparent gunshot wounds."
The individuals were discovered before 7 a.m., the tweet stated, noting the shooting happened in the parking lot of a gas station at 400 Mills Gap Road, which is the address for a Shell-brand gas station
Investigators found physical evidence using K-9 units and reviewed video evidence from security cameras at the gas station.
This video was "instrumental in piecing together events at the onset of the investigation this morning," said Sheriff's Office spokesperson Aaron Sarver.
The two deaths make four total homicides Sheriff's office has dealt with in 2022. It investigated seven homicides in 2021, according to Sarver.
Sarver noted Buncombe Sheriff's Office has identified suspects and brought charges in all of the county's homicides in 2022 and 2021.
He listed 2022 homicides in an email to the Citizen Times:
Dec. 19
Deceased: Sandy Elizabeth Torrey and Bryan Emmanuel Khopkar
Charged: Cody Wayne Dockins and Godiet Corral
July 1
Deceased: Billy Ray Moore
Charged: Kristie Ann Wood and Anthony Lee Thomas
June 28
Deceased: Riley Leshae Hannah Stephenson
Charged: Nickolas Shane Stephenson, 35, and Diandra Haleigh Fuhr-Farlow, 28
Andrew Jones is an investigative reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at @arjonesreports on Facebook and Twitter, 828-226-6203 or arjones@citizentimes.com. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Arden gas station shooting victims, both of Henderson County, named
