Mother of Asheville homicide victim says he was trying to turn his life around
ASHEVILLE - The city's first homicide victim in 2023 was trying to turn his life around after past arrests, his mother told the Citizen Times.
The Asheville Police Department reported Jan. 19 that 27-year-old Mackenzie McCord Strickland was gunned down on Southern Street, just south of the River Arts District, the night before.
Police charged Cody Lee Guyton, 30, with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon. Guyton is being held in the Buncombe County jail without bond. If convicted, he could face life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Strickland and Guyton were friends and were so close that Strickland gave Guyton clothes from his own closet, Strickland’s family has said.
“And (Guyton) still turned on him over something so petty,” said Strickland’s mother, Terra Lyles-George.
The two were reportedly arguing over payment of a $100 tattoo that never happened.
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Dana Kite, Strickland’s girlfriend, told the Citizen Times that she heard the two arguing over the phone “all night” about the tattoo. At about 11:30 p.m. Strickland stepped outside of Kite's house to talk with Guyton and another person, she said.
He was shot within seconds, Kite said. She believed that Guyton had been drinking that night, she said.
Police decline to speak
Asheville police have declined to speak to the Citizen Times about that account or the claim that there was a second person present at the time of the shooting, saying that it might jeopardize their investigation.
“We just sent out an updated release that answers the questions from your list that could be answered at this time, without jeopardizing an ongoing investigation,” APD spokesperson Samantha Booth said in a Jan. 19 email in response to questions from the Citizen Times.
Capt. Joe Silberman, who heads the criminal investigations division, deferred any questions from the Citizen Times about the case to Booth. But Silberman did speak on the case in an interview with local news station WLOS.
“It’s unfortunate, but it’s like a lot of homicides these days, which is, it starts over something incredibly trivial,” Silberman told WLOS. “And, when you reflect on the cost of human life, it makes the crime seem even more atrocious and pointless.”
At his first court appearance Jan. 20 in Buncombe County District Court, Guyton asked Judge Edwin Clontz to appoint an attorney to represent him. Guyton and Chief Public Defender Sam Snead spoke privately for a few minutes.
After court, Snead told the Citizen Times that the Capital Defender's Office in Durham will find a local attorney to represent Guyton.
Snead's own office had represented Strickland multiple times, contributing to a conflict of interest, he said.
Strickland grew up in Charlotte but moved to Asheville when he turned 18, Lyles-George said. He had lived in Asheville for about a year before he went to prison, she said, and then returned to the area when he was released.
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She said he was "keeping his head clean and working, and so he started to start businesses and things like that."
Strickland had "troubled" teenage years that carried into adulthood, his mother added.
"Unfortunately, prison didn't help," she said. "Prison added to everything and kind of hardened him. He had came out with a survival mode. 'I have to protect myself and always look over my back,' and things like that."
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Lyles-George and Kite believed Strickland met Guyton while imprisoned, they said. Strickland was released from prison in August 2022 and began parole, prison records indicate.
He was trying to live a legitimate life, his mother said. He had started working with her, was going into selling apparel and was doing chef prep and dishwasher work at a hotel restaurant downtown, she said.
Lyles-George learned at the courthouse that Strickland had run into a local attorney from his past the very day he was shot, she told the Citizen Times. Hours before the shooting, he saw public defender Courtney Booth at Plato's Closet and eagerly told her that he was doing well.
Booth confirmed the encounter.
"He wanted somebody to be proud," she said. “When I got to my car, I had a huge smile on my face."
She made a note to search for him later and see what he had been up to, only to see the news that he had died, she said.
Investigation ongoing
Lyles-George said she was grateful for a quick arrest from local law enforcement.
Asheville police arrested Guyton less than 24 hours after the shooting, after a night and early morning of chasing leads, the department said in a previous news release.
"I found out that he was murdered on Wednesday (Jan. 18) at 11:38," she said. "By the next day, before I could even get here in time, they had already got hold of the suspect and had him in custody and everything."
When the system is as efficient as it was in her son's case, it sends a strong message to the community — and to criminals, she said.
Guyton's next court date is Feb. 10.
APD's case remains an active investigation. If you have information, you can anonymously text TIP2APD to 847411 or use the TIP2APD smartphone application (search "Asheville PD" in your app store). You can also contact APD directly at 828-252-1110.
Ryan Oehrli covers public safety, breaking news and other beats for the Citizen Times. Comments? Questions? Tips? Send them to coehrli@citizentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville homicide victim was trying to turn his life around
