Ex-husband charged with murder in Franklin County slaying

Louisburg, N.C. — Authorities on Friday arraigned on a murder charge the ex-husband of a woman whose body was found in an abandoned car two weeks ago.

Robert Pastuer is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Narskelsky Angelean Pastuer, 52, of Zebulon.

Authorities say Robert Pastuer violated a court order to stay away from his estranged wife. It's the second murder in Franklin County within a year where a domestic violence protection order failed to work.

"Her husband had made numerous threats to people ... that he was going to kill her. It is our contention that he did exactly that," said Franklin Sheriff Pat Green. Pastuer was ordered held without bail.

The body of the Zebulon woman was found in the trunk of her car off U.S. Highway 1 near Franklinton on Dec. 7. Two men searching for scrap iron found the abandoned Toyota Camry on a wooded path.

Narskelsky Pastuer, who had been reported missing on Nov. 8 by her daughter, had been stabbed several times, authorities said.

"We were very close. We called each other every day and she never called me back. I just new something was wrong," said Melissa Battle, Pastuer's daughter.

Authorities interviewed Robert Pastuer immediately after his ex-wife's body had been found, and they called him a "person of interest" in the investigation.

Before her disappearance, Narskelsky Pastuer took out a domestic-violence protection order against her ex-husband, authorities said.

Authorities also said a "significant" amount of money was withdrawn from the woman's bank account with an ATM card after she disappeared. They said a security camera captured the withdrawal, but the person using the card was disguised.