Deputies, family search for answers in woman's death

A friend found the body of Beverly Honeycutt, 37, on the back steps of her home, off a quiet, two-lane road near Clinton, on Dec. 27, 2007. She had been shot in the face. A gold chain worn by her fiance, who had died in an accident three weeks earlier, lay next to her on the brick steps.

"I have no idea why anyone would have done this to her," said her mother, Susie Stone, who had been with her daughter a few hours before she was shot.

Investigators said there was no evidence of a robbery. Because the slaying occurred at night in a rural area, they said, it's been difficult to find witnesses.

"This is a particularly tough case," said Capt. Eric Pope, of the Sampson County Sheriff's Office. "We've been interviewing family members, friends, co-workers. We've done neighborhood canvassing in the area in which she lived."

Investigators have no motive and no suspects in the shooting, Pope said. Still, he said they're confident the killer will eventually slip up.

"Generally, people who commit a crime, they'll let something go, whether directly or indirectly," he said.

A $16,000 reward for information in the case was offered last month.

Stone, who recently wrote a poem about Honeycutt titled "My First Christmas in Heaven," said the family needs to know who killed her and why.

"It's been a living hell. There's no other way to put it," she said. "Christmas was her favorite time of the year. She made Christmas for everybody."

Anyone with information about Honeycutt's slaying is asked to call the Sampson County Sheriff's Office.