Reward offered in store manager's slaying

Raleigh, N.C. — The company that operates a Raleigh convenience store where a manager was shot to death a week ago offered a reward Thursday for information leading to an arrest in the case.

Stephanie Powell Anderson, 39, was killed inside a Trade Wilco convenience store on Trawick Road in the early hours of April 10. Family members said Anderson opened the store each day at 4:30 a.m. and that her boyfriend found her slumped behind the counter when he stopped to check on her.

Police responded to a "hold-up" alarm at the store at about 5 a.m. and determined that Anderson had been shot.

WilcoHess, which operates the convenience store, on Thursday offered a $25,000 reward in the case.

“The entire WilcoHess family is mourning the loss of Stephanie Anderson, and our thoughts and prayers are with her family," company President Steve Williams said in a statement. "We hope anyone with information that could help the police investigation of this tragic and senseless crime will come forward.”

Officers set up a checkpoint on Trawick Road last weekend to talk to people who might have been in the area around the time of the shooting. They also have investigated possible links to other crimes in the area.

Police said Thursday the slaying resulted from a robbery attempt.

More than 170 robberies were reported in Raleigh in the first two months of this year, which is a 50 percent increase over the same period in 2007.

Anyone with information about Anderson’s shooting is asked to call the Raleigh Police Department’s Detective Division at 919-890-3555 or Crime Stoppers at 919-226-CRIME.