Goldsboro teen shot, beaten, burned, buried

Goldsboro, N.C. — A Goldsboro teen who police say was kidnapped last year died of two gunshot wounds to the upper left chest, according to an autopsy report released Tuesday.

The body of Kennedy Fitzgerald McLaurin Jr., 16, was found Sept. 22 on a farm about 30 minutes east of Goldsboro, less than two weeks after the teen was kidnapped near his home in the Woodcrest Housing Community.

Leonard Eugene Joyner, 21, Jerome Jilah Butts, 19, Kevin Edward Smith, 18, and Curtis Etheridge, 17, all of Goldsboro, each face murder charges in the case.

According to the autopsy report, McLaurin was shot, beaten on the head with a shovel, burned, buried and then dug up a day later and re-buried.

Goldsboro police have not commented on a motive but have said the crime was neither gang-related nor random.

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This is what entitlements do! As soon as people realize that you CANNOT live off of food stamps, the sooner we can fix this with JOBS, these kids grow up seeing their parents living off of the government and they see how HARD it is to just plain survive, they figure there is no way out of the HELL they live in because most that live under these conditions live in the worst places of any state in the nation, they will look for a way out and for most it is not work, it is not any job because how many jobs are available in Goldsboro that will take a family out of the hood? NONE for a young person that is literally fighting for life by the time they are 10, the ONLY way in their eyes is to grab a weapon and "GET MINE", it is what drives a good young man to kill a dealer, "I need to eat" is why the dead youngster was dealing, the government CANNOT give anyone the life they see on TV, so kids will go out and "GET MINE"! or wait for stamps and live without the Lexus, which would you choose?

82d Airborne
February 15, 2013 8:51 a.m.

"Who sold these men and kids their weapons?? More evidence that ALL guns should be traceable back to their original owners who should also be held responsible for this murder." peace2u

Yes, and they should do the same for cars also. If your car is stolen and used in a vehicular homicide, or as a getaway car in a bank robbery, you should be held responsible for those crimes. Even if you sell it to someone and a few years later, that person sells it to some criminal, you are still responsible because you should not have bought that car in the first place. The car dealers also should bear some of the burden. The madness has to stop.

4Strikes
February 6, 2013 2:20 p.m.

Who sold these men and kids their weapons?? More evidence that ALL guns should be traceable back to their original owners who should also be held responsible for this murder. peace2u

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Kidding or just delusional? You gonna hold an innocent, law abiding citizen responsible for a crime that takes place 3 sellers down the line? Even the most recent seller if everything was legal and above board? You're not helping, trying............. but not helping.

Bartmeister
February 6, 2013 1:59 p.m.

He died of two gunshot wounds to the upper left chest, that was not an accident, so the theory of the gun going off by mistake may be slightly off.

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BUT the theory of the gun being used by a bad guy still stands, cause the gun didn't do it by itself now did it?

Bartmeister
February 6, 2013 1:55 p.m.

He died of two gunshot wounds to the upper left chest, that was not an accident, so the theory of the gun going off by mistake may be slightly off.

whereismychange
February 6, 2013 11:58 a.m.