Two Durham killings don't seem random

DURHAM -- Police say the killing of a man and woman over the weekend in east Durham was most likely not a random act of violence.

Officials offered few details Monday evening about a double homicide at the home at 111 Lynn Road, but Police Chief Jose Lopez Sr. said the two victims appear to be the intended targets.

"It looks like it was an intentional act," Lopez said. "There's nothing that points to it being random."

Lopez did not elaborate on what led him to think that, and he said he wasn't yet sure how the two people were killed. Police do not yet have a suspect, and the victims have not been identified, he said.

"There are a lot of things up in the air, a lot of rumors to substantiate," he said. "We're being very meticulous about how we're processing the crime scene."

Police discovered the bodies late Sunday after the brother of one of the people who leases the house called police.

The small, white home on Lynn Road is surrounded by trees about 100 yards from the intersection with Holloway Street.

One window appeared to be boarded up with wood; a small, above-ground pool sat in the side yard.

Police have responded to calls to the address 18 times since November 2006, according to records provided by the Durham Police Department. Five of those calls were for reported break-ins. Lopez said he was not aware of thehouse's call history but said it was not a home he knew was problematic.

The house is owned by the Holmes Oil Co., according to county tax records. It is registered in the name of Rhodney Reade, who, according to the company's phone system, is a vice president there.

Efforts to reach Reade for comment were unsuccessful.

Anyone with information is asked to call Investigator Gill at 560-4440, ext. 29322, or Crime Stoppers at 683-1200. Crime Stoppers pays cash rewards for information leading to arrests in felony cases, and callers never have to identify themselves.

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