Local News

Man arrested in Hope Mills double homicide of mother and son

A man has been arrested in a double homicide in Hope Mills from earlier this week.

Posted Updated

HOPE MILLS, N.C. — A man has been arrested in a double homicide in Hope Mills from earlier this week.

Rodney McCrary was charged in connection with the deaths of Julie Smith and her son, Desmond Brewington. Hope Mills police announced McCrary's arrest on Saturday morning and said he was a neighbor of the victims.

Rodney McCrary was charged with the death of a mother and son in Hope Mills.

Smith, 48, and Brewington, 25, were found dead behind their apartment on 6200 block of Hackberry Drive on Wednesday. McCrary also lives on Hackberry Drive.

Hope Mills police chief Stephen Dollinger said the Smith and Brewington were close to McCrary.

"They were neighbors and acquaintances and kind of friends and would interact with each other on a routine basis,” Dollinger said.

Desmond Brewington, left, and Julie Camacho

McCrary was charged with two counts each of first-degree murder, first degree kidnapping and concealing or failure to report a death. The 68-year-old was booked at the Cumberland County Detention Center and jailed without bond.

"We still have a lot of work to do to put the pieces together and connect all the dots to try and find out what the motive may have been or what started this whole chain of events," said Dollinger.

Neighbor Amber Barnhill and her boyfriend discovered the bodies laying in the grass behind the apartment building. The neighborhood was described by friends as tight-knit and many were distraught at the news.

"I knew I didn't want to walk up too close onto them," Barnhill said. "I didn't want to see something. I know a lot of people in this neighborhood and I didn't want it to be someone I knew."

Police are working to put together a timeline and chain of events using private home security systems and commercial security systems.

“The whole team worked relentlessly on this in order to put this together and make an arrest in this heinous crime,” said Dollinger.

Related Topics

 Credits 

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.