Orange County murder suspect, 19, pleads not guilty in teens’ deaths. What’s next?
The young man accused of killing two teenagers in western Orange County in 2022 pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Superior Court.
Issiah Ross, 19, is charged with killing 14-year-old Lyric Woods and 18-year-old Devin Clark on the night of Sept. 17 just off a grassy trail on Buckhorn Road near Efland.
His last appearance in court was more than a year ago when Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour rejected Ross’s bid to be released on a $200,000 secured bail bond. He continues to be held in the Orange County jail.
Ross appeared at Tuesday’s hearing in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs but did not speak. His attorney Jonathan Trapp entered the plea on his behalf. A jury trial has been scheduled for Oct. 27.
Friends and family of Woods have filled the first few rows of the courtroom at every hearing since her death, wearing T-shirts with her image printed on them. On Tuesday, they watched quietly before filing out of the room.
Prosecutors have said Ross picked up Clark on Sept. 17 and then picked up Woods near her home, a short drive from where the bodies were found. They were shot while running for their lives, Orange County Assistant District Attorney Anna Orr has said.
Trapp has acknowledged that Ross picked up Clark and Woods, but said a witness told Orange County sheriff’s deputies that the teens were shot after Ross struggled with Clark over a gun. Attorneys have said in court that the gun belonged to Clark’s father.
Orange County investigators think Clark and Woods were shot shortly after 2 a.m. on Sept. 17, Orr said. Residents reported hearing multiple gunshots between 2:10 a.m. and 2:20 a.m., she said.
Woods and Clark were found lying together, with their arms outstretched, attorneys have said. Investigators think they were shot and then dragged or placed where they were found, Orr said at a 2024 hearing.
Investigators also found 13 9 mm shell casings near the bodies, Orr said, along with “significant blood droplets” on the gravel. Four more casings were found in the tall brush near Woods, she said.
Clark was shot five times: three in the back, one that entered through the bottom of his foot and once in the back of the head, Orr said. An autopsy showed Woods was shot at least four times — in the back, arm and neck.
Ross could face life in prison if convicted. Suspects under 18 cannot get the death penalty in North Carolina, and Orange-Chatham District Attorney Jeff Nieman has said he will not seek the death penalty in any cases.
This story was originally published March 11, 2025 at 4:45 PM.
