Hit-and-run of Green Hope student stemmed from drug deal gone wrong

Four suspects have been charged with first-degree murder in a fatal hit-and-run Friday night that happened during a botched drug transaction, Cary police said Sunday.

Posted 1:23 p.m. Jun 28, 2015 — Updated 5:42 p.m. Jun 29, 2015

CARY, N.C. — Four suspects have been charged with first-degree murder in a fatal hit-and-run Friday night that happened during a botched drug transaction, Cary police said Sunday.

Investigators said 16-year-old Katherine Burdick-Crow, of Cary, was hit at about 9:20 p.m. on Lawrence Road near Walnut Street. She was taken to WakeMed, where she later died.

Charged are:

Jourdan Chanquion Mack, 20, of Rambling Hill Drive, Morrisville
Beth Strange, 18, of Fallborough Court, Morrisville
Abijah James Masse, 17, of Narrow Leaf Drive, Morrisville
Joshua Odell Simmons, 17, of Autumn Day Drive, Morrisville

Investigators said Burdick-Crow was robbed and became involved in an altercation with the suspects. During the altercation, she fell from a 2003 Ford F-150 pickup driven by Simmons as the suspects fled the scene.

Police said the vehicle has been found and is being processed.

A man called 911 after finding Burdick-Crow's body in the street as he left Walnut Street Park. He told the call-taker that she was bloody and unresponsive. He also described a male witness who was acting erratically and wanting to leave the scene.

"There's a gentleman here with blood all over his face," the caller said in a recording released Saturday. "He's acting very strange. He said not to call the police, but I'm calling you because, this girl, I don't feel a pulse or anything. Someone needs to get here really quickly."

Burdick-Crow was a student at Green Hope High School.

Cary officials said Masse is a student at Green Hope, and Mack graduated from there in 2013. Simmons is a student at Panther Creek High School, and Strange graduated from there in May.

“This is a terrible tragedy for all families involved," Cary police Capt. Randall Rhyne said. "With around-the-clock joint efforts by our Traffic Safety Team and Criminal Investigations Division, we hope that being able to wrap this up somewhat relatively quickly will help start the healing process for them and our community.”

Burdick-Crow's parents thanked the community for their support.

“We are devastated by the loss of our daughter Katie, but we appreciate the outpouring of love and support from so many of our friends," they said in a statement. "Katie was a very loving, caring person and it is a shame her life has ended so soon."

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call police at 919-469-4012 or Crime Stoppers at 919-460-4636. Crime Stoppers pays cash for tips leading to arrests, and callers may remain confidential.

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