Print from severed finger leads police to suspect in NC stabbing death, chief says

Investigators charged a suspect in a stabbing with murder Tuesday after matching a fingerprint to a severed finger found at the crime scene, the Smithfield police chief said.

Police responded to the Baymont Inn on South Equity Drive in the Johnston County town around 12:30 p.m. Monday.

They found Sandra Omary Juarez of Smithfield, who had been stabbed. She received first aid but was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a news release

The suspect had fled, but police were able to identify his car by using the Flock camera program, Police Chief Pete Hedrick said.

The suspect, 49-year-old Eric Jonathan Nelson, was apprehended in Virginia, where Smithfield detectives went Tuesday and charged him with first-degree murder.

‘Undeniable physical evidence’

“This attack appears to been unprovoked,” Hedrick said in a release Tuesday evening. “What motivated Nelson to commit this horrible crime remains under investigation. From witnesses on the scene, surveillance video at the hotel, intelligence from our Flock program, to the undeniable physical evidence left on scene we feel 100% confident that we have the right person in custody.”

“The crime was so brutal,” the chief continued, “that during the attack it appears Nelson severed his own finger which was left at the scene. Today the SBI [State Bureau of Investigation] was able to positively identify the finger recovered at the scene as Nelson’s through fingerprints.”

Police are asking that anyone who interacted with Nelson call them at 919-934-2121

Flock cameras read license plate numbers, as well as the make and color of vehicles, and share the information with law enforcement.

The News & Observer reported last year that the company Flock Safety had won approval to install more of the cameras across North Carolina. The company has about 400 clients, including about 100 law enforcement agencies, in the state.

This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 8:15 AM.