Local News

Autopsy: Durham Teen Shot In Head, Chest

An autopsy report confirms that a Durham teen was shot in the head and chest after authorities stormed his Wilmington home in December.

Posted Updated
Peyton Strickland
WILMINGTON, N.C. — An autopsy report released Wednesday confirms that a Durham teen who was killed last month as New Hanover County sheriff deputies stormed his Wilmington home was shot in the head and chest.

Authorities were at the Wilmington home on Dec. 1 to serve Peyton Strickland, 18, with warrants in connection with an assault and the theft of two Playstation 3 consoles.

Investigators believe the bullets went through the front door and they think deputy Christopher Long fired the fatal shot. Long told investigators he mistook the sound of a battering ram officers were using to break open the front door to the house as gunfire.

Long was fired from the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office after the incident, and a grand jury indicted him on a second-degree murder charge. But a day after the indictment was returned, a judge ordered that it be dismissed because the grand jury foreman testified that he had checked the wrong box on the indictment form.

Long may still face criminal charges in the case.

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.