The body of Bertha Dockery, 66, was discovered under amattress in her fifth-floor apartment by her son. One of the searchwarrants said Dockery had been sexually assaulted.
According toThe News & Observer, a search warrant wasissued involving Raymond A. Newkirk, 62, an upstairs neighbor of Dockery.The warrant indicates that other apartment residents had told police thatNewkirk "was involved" with Dockery.
A second warrant reported that police found an exterior door of theNewkirk apartment smeared with blood. Inside the apartment and on a denimjacket in a bedroom, police found blood droplets. Newkirkallowed police to conduct the search, documents show. The paper said healso provided socks, pants, underwear, and shoes to police.
The third warrant involved Marvin Mitchell, 42. Residents said theyhad seen him on the premises as recently as the past two weeks. Mitchelldenied seeing or talking to Dockery in six months, the paper said, anddenied that he had ever been to the building.
Mitchell's warrant seeks blood and hair samples from him, and thenewspaper said it cited police records of Mitchell abusing Dockery andbreaking into two of her homes.
Dockery had lived in the Sir Walter for three months. The building isreserved for the elderly and the disabled. Police Lt. D.S. Overman saidthe crime scene was still under investigation and that interviews withfriends and family were continuing.
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
