Warrants: Knife seized from suspect in 85-year-old Raleigh man's death

Relatives said they last spoke with Merritt on June 11, when he was home with Michael Nicholson, according to warrant applications. That same day, Nicholson pawned a bracelet that police later determined belonged to Merritt, and Merritt's relatives said there was no reason for him to have it, the applications state.

Nicholson, 54, was charged with obtaining property by false pretense, and while searching him, police found a knife in his backpack that a medical examiner said could have caused Merritt's stab wounds, according to the warrant applications. The knife has been sent to the State Crime Lab for DNA testing.

Nicholson told police that a third person was with Him and Merritt in the home on June 11, but that person told police that he only spoke with Nicholson by phone and was never at Merritt's home that day, according to a search warrant application. Nicholson's wife told police that he had texted her to tell her he was on a bus to Maryland on June 11, but he told police that he didn't leave town until June 14.

Police obtained a warrant to obtain the records from his cellphone to help determine which stories were true and which weren't.

They also obtained warrants to collect a sample of Nicholson's DNA, to examine clothing he was seen wearing at the pawn shop and to collect evidence from Merritt's home. Four knives, a lockbox and a telephone were among the items taken from the home.

Nicholson remains in the Wake County jail.

Merritt was Korean War veteran who earned degrees from what was then St. Augustine's College and North Carolina Central University and spent 40 years counseling and mentoring young men, according to his obituary.

Anyone with information about his death is asked to call Raleigh Crime Stoppers at 919-834-HELP or visit raleighcrimestoppers.org for text and email reporting options.