More Homes Searched in Michelle Young Murder Probe

Raleigh, N.C. — Wake County's sheriff said Monday investigators have searched two homes where a slain pregnant woman's husband has been living since her death.

Sheriff Donnie Harrison said detectives with the sheriff's office and the State Bureau of Investigation searched the homes of Jason Young's mother, Pat Young, and sister, Heather McCracken, last Thursday.

Young's wife, Michelle Young, was found in the bedroom of her home on the morning of Nov. 3, 2006. She had been beaten to death.

"This is an ongoing investigation. We're going over things. We're working together. We've got new eyes on the case," Harrison said. "And things that need to be done when we discover it, we do it."

Harrison would not say what investigators were looking for but did say that whenever officers apply for a search warrant, they have to have a very specific intent in order to get a warrant.

Michelle Young's mother, Linda Fisher, said she was pleased with the latest developments in her daughter's case and was relieved to know the case is still under investigation.

"I have to tell you, it's very good to know they're still making progress in the investigation," Fisher said. "It's the best thing that I could hear. The only thing I want is for this case to be solved."

Authorities have not named Jason Young a suspect in his wife's death, and Harrison said Monday that last week's search does not mean he is a suspect now.

"We're turning over every leaf we can," he said. "We're following up on everything we can, and (the latest search) is a part of that."

According to court documents, Jason Young has been a focus of the investigation, partly because of his lack of cooperation in the case.

Investigators said he was out of town when his wife's body was discovered with their 2-year-old daughter, Cassidy, at her side, unharmed.

Jason Young and Cassidy moved to western North Carolina after his wife's death, and they have been living with family members since. Their house at 5108 Birchleaf Drive has been for sale since July.

A man who identified himself as Gerald McIntyre answered the phone at the home of Pat Young in Brevard and had no comment. A call to McCracken in Etowah was not immediately returned.

Investigators spent more than a week after Young's death collecting evidence from her house. They returned last November to collect data to assist the SBI in analyzing evidence previously collected from the crime scene.

"It just takes time," Harrison said. "There's so much involved in this case – so many things involved in this case – that we just want to take our time, and this is just a part of it."

Harrison said that in no way was the lack of an arrest in the case indicative of how the investigation was going.

"I talked to (Michelle Young's family) sometime back and told them this was not a cold case, won't be a cold case any time soon, and we're continuing to work very hard on it," he said.