At Few Gardens, residents cannot understand why anyone would murder 90-year-old Irvin Daniels and 76-year-old Hattie Beth. They were both well-known and well-loved in the neighborhood.
"As long as that man's been living he never did no harm to anybody," says neighbor Odis Clark. "He was like a grandfather to the neighborhood. He was like a father to me."
"It's a hard pill to swallow. I hope whoever did this will be punished severely for it because they need to," says neighbor Charlotte Sumrall. "To take old people's lives like that, it's a sad thing around here."
Police are releasing few details on the double murder. The couple was last seen Saturday night. Irvin Daniels' grandson found them dead Sunday morning.
"As far as we know, we haven't had any problems coming out of this location, and it comes as a big shock," says Lt. Ed Sarvis of the Durham Police Department. "We just don't understand why anyone would feel the need to take a life especially of elderly people."
The Few Gardens apartments have had their share of problems. A 2-year-old girl was fatally shot in 1994, and a 5-year-old boy was shot and paralyzed four years later. The Durham Housing Authority has received a federal grant to demolish and replace the apartments.
• Credits
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
