Local News

Suspect in insurance examiner's slaying won't face death penalty

Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against Michael Howell in the May slaying of North Carolina Department of Insurance investigator Sallie Rohrbach.

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Sallie Rohrbach
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mecklenburg County prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against a man charged in the May slaying of North Carolina Department of Insurance investigator Sallie Rohrbach.

Rohrbach, 44, of Angier, was reported missing May 16. Her body was found four days later in a private wooded area of Fort Mill, S.C.

Michael Howell, 40, the owner of Dilworth Insurance Agency in Charlotte is charged with first-degree murder.

According to search warrants, Rohrbach was in Charlotte reviewing the insurance company's financial records after GMAC Insurance pulled its operating agreement for failing to pay customer premiums.

Investigators have not said how Rorhbach died, but sources within the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department have told CBS affiliate WBTV that she died from blunt force trauma and that the slaying occurred inside Howell's office.

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