New Hoke Sheriff May Shed Light On Brittany Locklear Case

Every day, Connie Chavis thinks of her daughter, Brittany, and hopes her murder will be solved.

"It's not going to bring her back, but it will give me some peace," she said.

Nearly five years ago, Locklear was standing at a bus stop. Witnesses say someone in a pickup truck drove down the street and abducted her. Locklear was found murdered just a short distance from her Hoke County home. Officials with the State Bureau of Investigation say they are still tracking about 25 leads a month.

Chavis said while the SBI is working the case, Hoke County Sheriff Jim Davis has harassed her. Chavis also accuses him of trying to use her daughter's case to win re-election. However, Davis has denied Chavis' allegations.

Davis recently lost in the primary to Hubert Peterkin, who will soon take office.

"I think the case has been too publicized. Everytime you turn around, it's in the paper or media and nothing has been done. That's why we want to look at what's been done," Peterkin said.

Davis floated some theories about the case publicly from implying the former sheriff's son may have been involved to suggesting the murder may have been politically motivated. Davis even asked the Department of Justice to investigate county investigators.

When Davis was elected in 1998, he pledged to solve the case. Peterkin, who has 15 years of law enforcement experience, said he is not making any guarantees, only promising to give the case another look.

"Anybody is better than Jim Davis," Chavis said.

Davis did not return phone calls Tuesday to WRAL. Peterkin has already made contact with the SBI about meeting on the Locklear case. The Department of Justice is still investigating the case at Davis' request.