Arrest made after two found shot to death in car with children in back seat, NC cops say
Rocky Mount police have charged a man with two counts of murder after two people were found shot to death in a car with two young children left freezing in the back seat.
Eric Coley, 42, faces two counts of first-degree murder and felony possession of a firearm by a felon, according to a Rocky Mount police news release. He was arrested Friday night and is being held in the Nash County jail without bond. He is scheduled for a first appearance in court at 9 a.m. Monday.
The “toddler-age” children spent hours in the back seat before a group on their way to work discovered the bodies early Thursday, Dec. 1, according to news outlets and the Rocky Mount Police Department. They were taken to UNC Nash Healthcare for treatment.
Rocky Mount Police Corporal Ricky Jackson said Saturday morning that the children “are doing well.”
Police were called at about 6:15 a.m. Thursday to a business in Rocky Mount, roughly 60 miles northeast of Raleigh. While at the scene on Construction Drive, officers reportedly found two people with gunshot wounds.
At the time the children were found, the temperature in Rocky Mount was about 38 degrees.
The two people found dead in the car were identified as 28-year-old Devone Brown and 24-year-old Destiny Wiggins.
Breana Wiggins remembers her sister Destiny as a loving mother of four who had a passion for doing hair, WNCN reported. She told the TV station that Destiny’s daughters were “with her during this horrible crime.”
“Please keep the family members in your prayers,” Police Chief Robert Hassell said, according to ABC11. “Of course with any kind of situation like this, two members of our community have lost their lives.”
Rocky Mount detectives are continuing to investigate and additional charges may be forthcoming, the department said in the news release.
Those with information are asked to call police at 252-972-1411, Crime Stoppers at 252-977-1111 or text tips along with the letters “RMPOL” to the number 274637.
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