Slain Roanoke Rapids woman died of blood loss
A 92-year-old Roanoke Rapids woman found dead in her home last year died of blood loss from stab wounds to the neck, according to an autopsy report released Thursday.
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Maxine McCrary suffered multiple stab wounds with a complete separation of her left external carotid artery, which would have caused a very rapid death, according to the autopsy. Other injuries were consistent with a struggle.
McCrary and her 65-year-old daughter, Nancy Burgess, were found dead May 7 in McCrary’s home at 311 U.S. Highway 158.
Police arrested her neighbor, Tony Maurice Gorham, 28, of 325 U.S. Highway 158, and charged him two counts each of first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon. Prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty.
According to search warrants, Gorham told investigators that he took $200 from McCrary and stabbed the women with a kitchen knife.
The autopsy report said that the police investigation indicated Burgess had been talking to her brother on the phone around 7:30 p.m. when she answered her mother’s door. She told her brother she would call him back within 10 minutes, and when she never did, he called police.
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