Teenager Charged With Killing Classmate
A 17-year-old boy is behind bars charged with first degree murder in the death of Chris Eggleston. Matthew Myers was questioned Saturday after Eggleston's body was recovered from Persimmons Creek. Investigators expect more arrests to be made in the case.
Friday night, the friends and family of Chris Eggleston still had a glimmer of hope. Today, their hopes have been dashed. Search teams discovered Eggleston's body Saturday morning not far from the place where he was last seen-- Westover High School.
Eggleston was found shortly before 9:00 a.m. submerged in a creek bed just yards away from where investigators looked Friday night.
Chris Eggleston took his last exam Monday and walked away from school. Friday, investigators got a tip that turned up three clues.
A search and rescue team spent Friday afternoon poking around a creek along Morganton Road. They looked for, but hopednotto find 16-year old Chris Eggleston. Family and friends gathered up the road to wait for word.
Nearby the creek, investigators located a shoe family members identified as Chris'. Adding to the shoe, the searchers discover a shirt and a notebook, all belonging to the missing teenager.
Though it only took a few days for divers to locate Chris' body, it took even less time for word of the finding to spread throughout the community surrounding Westover High School.
Friends and strangers gathered to support a very distraught Eggleston family. Nicole Hardy was one of the many local residents at the scene. Hardy didn't know the Eggleston's, but she feels their pain all the same. She says it's senseless acts like this that makes her question her own faith in God.
Until Saturday, investigators had been treating the situation as a missing person case, hoping Eggleston had thrown his belongings off a bridge and run away. It now appears they're dealing with a case of murder.
Investigators expect several of Eggleston's classmates to be questioned about his death. In the meantime, Eggleston's body is on the way to Chapel Hill where an autopsy will be performed.
andJulia LewisandRobert Meikle
