FBI offers $30K reward in case of 3 dead in Lumberton

The FBI on Wednesday announced a reward of up to $30,000 for information that helps to solve the mystery of the deaths last spring of three women in Lumberton.

Lumberton police asked the FBI for help in determining how the three women died.

Police Chief Michael McNeill said there are similarities among the cases. John Strong, special agent in charge for the FBI in North Carolina, said the deaths are suspicious because of how and when the bodies were found.

Two women – Christina Bennett and Rhonda Jones – were found on the same day, April 18, a few blocks apart. Bennett, known by her family as Kristin, was found inside a house at 505 Peachtree St. She was 32 years old, and her last known address was in the 1900 block of Eastwood Terrace.

Jones, 36, was found outside a house at 702 E. 5th St.

On June 3, the third woman, Megan Oxendine, 28, was found outside a house on East 8th Street.

"I want to know what happened to Christina, Rhonda and Megan," McNeill said. "They were loved. They are not forgotten."

The teen who found Oxendine said she was not a stranger.

"She was well known around here," Marcus McCollum, 15, said. "She would come up to the house. My dad would talk to her and the neighbors."

McCollum was playing basketball with a friend when they noticed a foul odor that led them to Oxendine's body.

"We don't know if this is a criminal matter or whether there is another explanation," McNeill said.

In each case, investigators were not immediately able to determine how the women died or how long they had been dead before they were found.

The FBI is asking that anyone who saw or talked to any of the women come forward to help build a timeline of their final days. Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI office in Charlotte at 704-672-6100 and choose option 2.

"Tell us what you know, what you heard and what you saw," Strong said.