‘Somebody’s in the house still.’ Woman plays dead to escape killer, NC cops say
A 69-year-old woman survived a triple murder in North Carolina by pretending she was dead, police say.
The woman, Hazel Epps, was shot along with three others in a Bladen County home around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, according to the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office. She was the only one who survived.
Epps played dead as the shooter was roaming the home and called 911, WNCN reports.
“Somebody came in my house and shot everybody here including me,” she said in a 911 call obtained by WNCN. “But I believe everybody is dead except me.”
She told dispatchers she had been shot in the back and knew the shooter, WRAL reports.
“Somebody’s in the house still, I believe in the back bedroom,” she said, according to WRAL.
When officers got to the house, they found 30-year-old Catrice Lacole Murchison, 27-year-old Ronnie Lebert Kelly and 60-year-old Guy Lennon Barden Jr. shot to death, The News & Observer reported Sunday.
The suspect accused of the triple murder, 36-year-old Taurean Reshaul Johnson, turned himself in on Sunday night, The News & Observer reports.
Warrants were issued for attempted murder and three counts of murder, the sheriff’s office says.
Officials are investigating and the sheriff’s office asks that anyone with information call 910-862-6960.
