Court finds probable cause that boyfriend of Allisha Watts murdered her

The man charged with murdering Allisha Watts arrived to court on Thursday in Montgomery County.

James Dunmore was Allisha Watts' boyfriend. He could face life in prison without parole or the death penalty if he's convicted.

On Thursday, the court found probable cause that Dunmore murdered Watts on or around July 18.

She was reported missing on July 16, and her body wasn't found until Aug. 24. Dumore was arrested the same day, and he has been in jail ever since.

Dunmore is due in court next on Oct. 23.

Watts' mentor, Dot Brewer, spoke after Thursday's court hearing.

“I do believe that we have witnessed some very good work that has been done since Allisha was reported missing," Brewer said.

Brewer said it was heavy to listen to testimony on Thursday.

“No one, not even an animal, should be tossed out like that,“ Brewer said.

On Thursday in court, detectives from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office and Moore County Sheriff's Office took the stand to provide testimony about the search and how they settled on Dunmore as the suspect.

Missing person mystery took a month before arrest

On July 18, Dunmore was found unresponsive in Watts' SUV in the parking lot of the DMV office in Polkton – a lot frequented by troopers filling up their vehicles with gas. A detective said he overdosed on blood pressure medication.

Dunmore was unresponsive when he was taken to the ICU in Union County.

When authorities went to speak with Dunmore days later, they noted he was sweating and breathing rapidly. He told detectives that he wanted to watch TV and that he wanted to hire a lawyer before saying anything else.

Moore County detectives said Thursday in court that Dunmore and Watts went to the mall on July 16, but never returned home.

Authorities found Watts' SUV on July 18, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) filed the missing persons report for her on the same day.

When Dunmore's older sister collected items from Watts' SUV at the DMV, she found Watts' purse and luggage, but not her phone. She provided detectives with a bag of his belongings from the hospital that included muddy sweatpants, sweatshirts and muddy shoes filled with pine needles and vegetation.

More than a month later, Dunmore was arrested and charged with murder.

Murder suspect has history of domestic violence allegations

Dunmore's wife, Artee Bruton, has come forward in support of Watts' family.

In May, Bruton took out a domestic violence protective order against Dunmore after she said he threatened to kill her, kidnapped her and sexually assaulted her. Bruton also filed an arson report with Durham after her car was burned. She believed Dunmore was behind that.

In July, Bruton had her Honda worked on and found a tracking device under the vehicle. Detectives believe Dunmore put it there.