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3:51 p.m. • 5-21-13

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  • Just In: There is no property tax increase in the budget proposal submitted Tuesday by Raleigh City Manager J. Russell Allen to the city council.

Published: 2007-10-21 19:44:00
Updated: 2007-10-24 06:13:13

Rocky Mount Stabbing Victim Laid to Rest


Debbie Kornegay
Debbie Kornegay
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A woman who was stabbed to death in a Rocky Mount church was laid to rest Sunday.

Hundreds of people attended Debbie Kornegay's funeral service at the Church of the Good Shepherd, including Gov. Mike Easley and Attorney General Roy Cooper.

"It is a testament to who she was as an individual, to the way in which she touched people's lives,” Rev. Scott White said.

Kornegay, the director of Rocky Mount's Meals on Wheels, and Eve Beasley, the assistant director, were attacked Thursday. They were preparing meals at Lakeside Baptist Church when, police said, a man entered the kitchen and stabbed them multiple times.

Kornegay, 58, was pronounced dead at Nash General Hospital. Beasley, 60, survived and was listed in serious condition at Pitt Memorial Hospital Sunday afternoon.

Tommy Lee Holiday, 30, faces charges in Kornegay's death and Beasley's attack. A police officer arrested Holiday in an Edgecombe County park Friday morning.

Police said the women were helping Holiday find a shelter when he stabbed them.

"There is no sensibility to it. There is no reason to it. It's a tragedy. It is not by the hand of God, it is by the hand of another human being," Rev. White said.

“I am torn up because it is a tragedy and a sad thing that happened to a very dear friend,” Meals on Wheels worker Bobby McDonald said.

Holiday was being held without bond in the Nash County jail. He was also charged with resisting, delaying and obstruction; two counts of armed robbery, and larceny of a motor vehicle.

Court records show Holiday was released from prison in Nash County in August after serving 11 months on a felony breaking and entering conviction. He also has several convictions dating to 1993 on charges ranging from larceny, larceny of firearms and robbery.

Holiday's first court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday morning.


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WHETHER THIS "THING" WAS HOMELESS OR NOT, HE HAS A HOME NOW AND I SURELY HOPE THIS WILL BE HIS LAST ONE (too bad we will have to support him). ALSO, THE GIRL THAT TOOK THE LIFE OF HER BABY; SHE SHOULD BE PUT IN AN ATTIC AND LEFT AND THEN (if still alive) SENT TO THE SAME HOMELESS SHELTER THAT MR. HOLIDAY HOPEFULLY WILL BE IN. MAYBE THEY WILL EXCHANGE AND COMPARE STORIES. MAYBE WE WILL CLEAN UP ALL THE TRASH IN ROCKY MOUNT AND START TO FEEL A LITTLE SAFER.

BLESS THE KORNEGAY AND BEASLEY FAMILIES.

He is EVIL....plain and simple.

another opinion, I am very sorry for your loss. Your sister truly carried her cross as Christ did and lived her life trying to help others. May you find comfort knowing that she will be admired and remembered for her sacrifice and good works. God bless you and your family, you are in my prayers.

TO ALL THE WOULD BE KILLERS OUT THERE: couldn't you find a nice crack dealer to stab? The idea of killing a person who is trying to do nothing other than help the community boggles the mind. I hope the family of this poor woman can have some closure knowing the killer is off the street.

Time will tell if the Gov. lets this guy off. I can only wish that I would be chosen for the trial as a member of the jury. No question in my mind what kind of punishment he should get. DEATH, DEATh and More DEATH. Mrs korneygay, & Mrs Beasley were only wanting to help someone who they knew needed help.Why would he want to kill to defenseless women, what a big strong man he is, to kill 2 innocent women, in a church mind you. That person that did this is a BIG COWARD. A child that needs to be delt with by death by ...... OLE SPARKY with a short, sothey have to hit him 2 or 3 times just to make sure that he feels the same as she did when he was stabbing her. I can not get over that he attacked 2 women in a church. WHAT A COWARD!!! I HOPE THAT HE GETS TO READ THIS. MAYBE HE WILL FEAR FOR HIS LIFE, MAYBE HE WILL DO EVERY ONE A FAVOR AND TAKE HIS OWN LIFE, OH BUT WAIT HE IS TO MUCH OF A COWARD TO DO THAT,HE NEEDS THE STATES HELP. CAN I SUGGGEST FIRING SQUAD, MASS BEATING, THROWING STONES,

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