2 Unsolved Murders Might Be Linked

Raleigh, N.C. — The slayings of two men in Wake County last year might be connected, according to investigators.

Sam Haj-Hussein, 43, was found shot to death inside the In & Out Food Mart on Creech Road on May 12, 2006. Three weeks later, LeRoy Jernigan, 41, was cleaning the Circus Restaurant on Wake Forest Road when he was shot execution-style.

The Wake County Sheriff's Office is investigating Hussein's death. The Raleigh Police Department is handling Jernigan's case.

Investigators and Jernigan's family said they believe the cases could be linked.

Vehicles belonging to both men were stolen during the slayings, and police recovered the vehicles within a block of each other in west Raleigh.

"We believe that these two are connected and that, if we can find the people that are responsible for either one, that maybe we can get some closure into either one," said Chastity Jernigan, LeRoy Jernigan's sister.

Jernigan's family has prepared a flier with composite pictures of four men who they think might know something about one or both cases.

"You don't want it to be one of these cold case files and it not get solved until 20 years later," Jernigan said.