Family devastated after mother found dead behind Robeson County home

A man was charged with first-degree murder on Monday after a body was found buried in Robeson County.

Investigators with the Robeson County Sheriff's Office found a body buried in the field behind a home in the 330 block of Drops Landing Drive, the same area Samantha Bryant, a missing woman, was last seen July 31. The family recently confirmed the body found was Bryant.

Tyrone Brooks, 37, of Rowland, was charged with first-degree murder, concealing/failing to report a death and altering/destroying evidence. Brooks was being held in the Robeson County Detention Center without bond.

For now, a grieving grandmother has to figure out how to break the terrible news to the children Bryant left behind. She was 31 years old.

"We haven't told them," said an emotional Deborah Cabe. "They went to get my grandkids right now because they don't know. We haven't told them. They knew that she was missing, but we haven't told them that she is dead."

Cabe said last year, she called her because she wanted help leaving Brooks, her boyfriend. Her mother says Bryant and Brooks were going through drug rehab to try and get their lives back on track.

"She loved her family, but she just couldn't get away from him," Cabe said.

The investigation is ongoing. The body will be sent to the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy to determine the cause of death and official identification.

Brooks made his first court appearance Tuesday morning. He remains locked up without bond at the Robeson County Detention Center.

Friends have started a GoFundMe page for the family to help with expenses.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office at 910-671-3100 or 910-671-3170.