Lumberton mother wants answers in daughter's killing

The mother of one of three women who was found dead in Lumberton in the last two months wants answers.

Shelia Price believes her daughter, Rhonda Jones, was murdered.

"Who does sick stuff like this," said Price. "She was found in a city trash can, upside down, naked."

A small memorial now marks the spot where the 32-year-old's body was discovered by a passerby on April 18 on East 5th Street.

Not far away on the same day, the decomposed body of 32-year-old Christina Bennet was found inside an abandoned home on Peachtree Street. On June 3, a teenager discovered the body of 28-year-old Megan Oxendine behind a house on 8th Street.

Police say the autopsies of all three women haven't revealed a cause of death.

"She wasn't stabbed, she wasn't shot, she was not beaten or strangled," said Price.

Authorities have not said whether the deaths are connected.

"We don't know," said Capt. Terry Parker with the Lumberton Police Department. "We don't have a lot of information, so we haven't ruled out the possibility that they are connected, but we certainly don't know at this point."

While Price acknowledges her daughter had a drug problem in the past, she still believes the mother of five was murdered and wants the person responsible caught and punished.

"I don't believe in the death penalty, but I want them to rot in prison," Price said. "I honestly do. You took my baby. You had no right."

The family has planned a candlelight vigil for all three women on Sunday at 7 p.m.