Suspect accused of killing Hillsborough housekeeper ordered held without bail
Paula Floyd was Wendy Stocking’s younger sister, but Stocking called her “my little big sister” because Floyd would always take care of her.
Floyd was a “very kind, gentle person” and Stocking’s best friend, Stocking said. The two sisters lost their brother to cancer seven years ago. They lost their dad in August 2025. And now, Stocking’s little big sister is gone.
“There’s a light in this world that was turned off really quickly,” Stocking said through tears.
Matthew Jared Vukmer, 53, was charged March 6 with the murder of Paula Floyd, 54. He fled the state and was arrested in Grayson County, Virginia. He made his first appearance at the Orange County Courthouse in Hillsborough on Friday after waiving extradition proceedings and returning to North Carolina.
Orange County District Attorney Jeff Nieman said the time it took to get Vukmer back to North Carolina was neither usual or unusual but “just was what it was.”
Orange County Assistant District Attorney Blake Courland requested that Vukmer be held without bail, citing the facts of the murder charge and Vukmer fleeing the state in March.
Kellie Mannette, representing Vukmer, said the defense would not be heard on bail Friday, opting to be heard later when they established more facts in the case.
‘Something obviously happened’
Courland said Floyd was Vukmer’s housekeeper and came every other Friday.
Vukmer’s wife was in the house when he allegedly killed Floyd, Courland said. She called 911 and said her husband had attacked their housekeeper. The News & Observer previously reported on the details of the 911 call., including that a male voice could be heard saying, “We got Vladimir Putin.”
“I don’t know who he thought she was,” the wife said to the dispatcher. Sheriff Charles Blackwood told The N&O on March 10 that “something obviously happened” to Vukmer’s mental health.
On Friday, Floyd’s family sat two rows behind Vukmer as he stood and nodded when a judge told him he would remain in jail.
Stocking sat in the middle, hand covering her tears as sheriff’s deputies walked Vukmer out of the courtroom.
She said she knows God says vengeance is his, so “He’ll take care of it, no matter what happens here on this earth.”
Still, she wanted justice for Floyd and to know why someone would take her sister’s life.
“It’s just hard to believe that she’s gone,” Stocking said.
This story was originally published April 10, 2026 at 5:15 PM.
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