Man charged in Wilson County shooting deaths

The bodies of John Henry Little, 61, and Charlene Jones, 42, were found inside a home near Elm City Monday. They had been shot.

Verna Lee Farmer faces murder charges in their deaths. Sheriff Calvin Woodard said Farmer, who had a "strong friendship" with Jones, admitted to deputies that he was involved in the crime.

Woodard stopped short of saying that Farmer had confessed, however.

The gun believed to be used in the killings was found within 2 miles of Little's home, Woodard said. He declined to comment on a possible motive, but said investigators believe Farmer acted alone.

Deputies were dispatched to 3233 Corbett Ave. around noon Monday after Jones' sister called 911 to report her sister missing. She hadn't seen her sister since Saturday, she said.

She told a 911 dispatcher that a friend had gone to the house, which Little rented, to check on Jones and that he found a bloody cap outside.

A neighbor also reported seeing blood outside the home.

According to search warrants, investigators learned through interviewing witnesses that Farmer had threatened to kill Jones in the past if he ever caught her with another man.

Little, Jones and Farmer all knew each other, Woodard said, but he didn't elaborate on the nature of their relationships.

On Tuesday, acting on a tip, investigators found Jones' cellphone, a pair of socks and a white T-shirt with reddish-brown stains in the dumpster of a Fresh Way Food Mart, warrants state.

Surveillance video from the store showed a man resembling Farmer in the area of the dumpster between 8:15 and 8:45 p.m. Sunday. 

Farmer's wife told WRAL News Wednesday that she and her husband had gone to get dinner around 6 p.m. Sunday. They came home and Farmer told her he was going to visit his mother, she said.

When he returned, the couple watched television together and Farmer acted like nothing had happened, she said.

She said she had never heard of either victim.

Farmer was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury in 1996, according to state Department of Corrections records. He also has multiple DWI convictions on his record, as well as a breaking and entering charge from 1991.