Wilson man charged in Christmas Eve quadruple murder
WILSON COUNTY, North Carolina (WTVD) -- The Wilson County Sheriff's Office says it has murder warrants charging 29-year-old Dereck Eugene Harris in a Christmas Eve quadruple murder.
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A mother and her son along with their significant others were shot in the 2200 block of Banks Lane East, just east of Wilson.
A family member identified the mother as Tammy Pearce, 54, along with her boyfriend, Selby Outland, 47. The other two victims are Shane Pearce, 28, and his fiance, Dominique (Nikki) Privette, 23.
"I'm glad to see there's some justice now that they finally found somebody to pinpoint who did a brutal execution of innocent people like that," said Darryl Morgan, a friend of the victims.
Harris was already serving time in a state prison for a probation violation and other charges. He will be brought back to Wilson to face the new accusations.
"These people were not very rich. They were not powerful," Morgan said. "They were just everyday ordinary people and they got brutally assassinated. And, you know, thanks to the sheriff's department they did pursue it and do the right thing and bring someone to justice for it.
"It's definitely a relief for me and the community because the community, they've suffered through this just like everybody else," Morgan added. "This is four murders that have gone unsolved for a long period of time and now we got a little closure."
Wilson County Sheriff Calvin Woodard asked that anyone with information on these murders call (252) 237-2118.
"Investigators have worked countless hours on the case that is still being actively investigated. It was never placed on the back burner," Woodard said. "We constantly kept working the case until we came to this point; however, we are not stopping here. We will continue our investigation until we locate everybody accountable for this crime. Harris was known to some of the victims. The detectives followed great leads and significant evidence that led to an arrest in this horrific crime."
