Stick seized from murder suspect's insurance agency

Charlotte, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police seized a stick from a Charlotte insurance agency owned by the suspect charged in the death of state insurance examiner Sallie Rohrbach.

Police searched the premises of Dilworth Insurance Agency on Thursday after receiving information from a North Carolina Department of Insurance investigator of possible evidence related to the crime at the agency, according to a third search warrant made public Monday.

The stick was the only item seized, according to the warrant, but it does not provide further details about the item.

An examiner with the Department of Insurance, Rohrbach, 44, of Angier, was reported missing May 16. Her body was found four days later in a private wooded area of Fort Mill, S.C.

According to a search warrant released last week, she was in Charlotte reviewing the financial records of Dilworth owner Michael Howell after GMAC Insurance pulled its operating agreement for failing to pay customer premiums.

Howell, 40, is charged with first-degree murder.

Investigators have not said how Rorhbach died, but sources within the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department have told CBS affiliate WBTV that she died from blunt force trauma and that the slaying occurred inside Howell's office.