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Husband charged in assistant principal's death

Moore County authorities charged a Carthage man Monday with shooting and killing his wife, an assistant principal at Pinecrest High School.

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CARTHAGE, N.C. — Moore County authorities charged a Carthage man Monday with shooting and killing his wife, an assistant principal at Pinecrest High School.
Deputies received a report of a shooting Sunday at 333 Baughn Trail. When they arrived at the residence, they found Abigail "Abby" Alexander Baughn, 36, dead from a gunshot wound to the head, authorities said.

Investigators arrested her husband, Randy Martin Baughn, 38, early Monday and charged him with murder. He was being held without bond in the Moore County Detention Center, and his first court appearance is scheduled for June 1.

Abby Baughn attended Moore County schools, and teaching became her life's passion, according to those who knew her.

"Every time I interacted with Abby, there was that positive, uplifting kind of spirit. She had that look in her face every time you would see her," Moore County Schools Superintendent Susan Purser said. "Even in difficult times, Abby was Abby. She was a joy."

Abby Baughn was an assistant principal for 11th and 12th grades at Pinecrest High for the past two years, school district spokesman Tim Lussier said. She started work in the district in 1999 as an Exceptional Children teacher at Union Pines High School and later became the director of the program, he said.

Enola Lineberger, president of the Pinecrest High PTA, said Abby Baughn was involved in almost all school activities but still took time to help students.

"My oldest son, Pete, he’s a senior this year, and he had a few little issues," Lineberger said. "She really sat down and talked with him, and she encouraged him (that), if he had a problem, to stop by and see her again. I was appreciative of that, as a mom, that she would reach out to him like that."

Friends said Abby Baughn also taught Sunday school at Bethlehem Baptist Church in town and her husband was choir director at the church.

Lineberger said she saw Randy Baughn attend some Pinecrest High athletic events with his wife and said most people in the community are stunned by the shooting.

"We’re all just in shock, and as the circumstances unfolded, it just made it doubly tragic," she said.

Authorities haven't released any information about a possible motive for the shooting.

Pinecrest High was out Monday for Memorial Day, and officials said they would have additional guidance counselors and social workers on hand when classes resume Tuesday to help students and staff cope with the slaying.

"She has touched the lives of so many individuals," Purser said. "I’ve even spoken to people (who) remember Abby when they taught her."

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