Burned body
identified, man
died elsewhere

By BOB HIGH

The body found inside a burning Jeep north of Hallsboro on the night of Aug. 17 has been identified by modern forensics as a Hispanic man from Robeson County.

Sheriff’s Detective Capt. Bobby Benton said Wednesday the man was Jose Ramiro Sanchez, 23, of St. Pauls.

“We have evidence that leads us to believe he was killed outside Columbus County, and this removes a homicide case from our list,” Benton declared.

Sheriff’s Detective Sgt. David Nobles and SBI Agent Josh Hickman met Wednesday with detectives from another southeastern North Carolina county and turned the case over to those officers.

Sanchez was identified by DNA taken from his remains and matched with a DNA sample obtained from his toothbrush, Benton said.

The burning body was found by firefighters in the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee that was discovered ablaze at 11:03 p.m. on Aug. 17. The Jeep was parked in the entrance to a private timber company road off White Hall Road, about 100 yards southwest of the Curn Spaulding Road intersection.

Construction worker

The dark blue Jeep was extensively burned and Sanchez was burned beyond recognition. Sanchez was described as a construction worker.

The Jeep was owned by a resident of Hoke County, and it had been purchased in Wilmington, Benton noted.

Benton declined to name the county taking over the homicide investigation because of possible problems with “giving away” evidence that could be helpful to the new investigators.

“Let that county’s officers make any news release they wish,” the captain noted.

There have been three homicides in Columbus County this year, two in the rural area.

Mickey Ray Hayes, 59, of Peanut Worley Road, Cerro Gordo, was killed by a shotgun on Jan. 14, and Byron Leneau Hooks, 19, of Cherry Grove Road, Cerro Gordo, is charged with murder.

James Ervin Dixon, 41, of Yam Lane, Tabor City, was killed by a .22-caliber rifle bullet to the back of his head on June 1. Levern Kelly, 55, of Bermuda Bay Lane, a small road in the Iron Hill community east of Tabor City, is charged in the murder.

The third homicide took place on June 11 in Fair Bluff. Allen Jerome Tyler, 22, of Fair Bluff, was killed outside a home at the intersection of Hamer Street and Park Drive. Mark Bouvier McKay, 42, of Chadbourn, who fired the fatal shot, was not charged in the case because the shooting was declared self defense.