Local News

Warrants Provide Details In Wendell Woman's Slaying

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Cynthia Moreland, missing woman
RALEIGH, N.C. — A Raleigh man charged in connection with the kidnapping and slaying of Cynthia Moreland two months ago admitted to being in her car the day she disappeared, according to a recently released search warrant.

Moreland, 48, of Wendell, disappeared after pulling into a downtown Raleigh parking garage on Aug. 22. Her abandoned car was found the following day in southeast Raleigh.

A Harnett County couple searching for firewood a few miles outside of Coats found her body behind an old barn on Sept. 1.

Antonio Davon Chance, 29, of 440 Dorthea Drive, is charged with murder in Moreland's death, and search warrants returned Monday detail evidence Raleigh police used to build a case against him.

Investigators traced calls made from Moreland's missing cell phone and traced it to a man who said he had bought it on the street from a man named "Tone."

Using that information and video surveillance from a local discount store where a man used Moreland's debit card hours after her disappearance, police identified Chance as a suspect. They also matched him to fingerprints found in Moreland's car.

After his arrest, Chance told investigators he was in Moreland's car the morning she disappeared, but he denied harming her, a search warrant said. He also denied knowing where Moreland was, the warrant said.

Authorities obtained samples of Chance's hair and DNA for possible analysis in the case. They also seized from his apartment a crack pipe, a bracelet and a receipt from the discount store where Moreland's debit card had been used.

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