Woman accused of killing grandmother in Clayton apprehended in Georgia; 2-year-old boy safe

Sunday, October 3, 2021
CLAYTON, N.C. (WTVD) -- The woman accused of killing her grandmother and fleeing with her 2-year-old son has been taken into custody in Georgia, officials said.

Clayton Police Department found Inita Gaither, 68, dead inside her home on Crawford Parkway during a welfare check around 4:30 p.m. Thursday. While investigating, officers identified Camille Nechelle Singleton, 31, as a suspect in the homicide.
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Family members identified the victim as the suspect's grandmother.

Singleton was on the run with her 2-year-old son, Dior Singleton. An AMBER Alert had been issued for the child.

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Clayton officials said Singleton was with her son when she was apprehended in Georgia on Sunday.



Clayton detectives are on their way to Georgia to bring her back to Johnston County.

Gaither's daughter, Willette Eley, said her mom had four children. She said Gaither was raising one of Singleton's sons. Police are still investigating whether Dior lived with Gaither.

The investigation started when police showed up at Gaither's home. They found her with a gunshot to the head.



Neighbor Rebecca Rowe said Gaither was a grandmother for the whole neighborhood.



"She was real sweet. She loved children," said Rowe. "She took care of her grandson and she just always had children around, and she kept a lot of children. She had a lot of relatives that came over and brought their children. She just loved children."



Rowe said there was tension between Singleton and Gaither, but she didn't know why.
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"I know she didn't deserve that, no matter what," Rowe said. "She took care of her grandson on her own. For the last, I've been here three years. That was her whole life."

Other neighbors described the area as typically quiet and expressed shock at the situation.

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"She was just the sweetest lady I've ever known," said neighbor Roger Hastings. "You just don't find people better than that and this is something you don't expect around here. It was a shock to the whole community."



Police said Friday that Singleton left the area, and their best clue was from a U-Haul dealership in Georgia where Singleton had dropped off a white U-Haul pickup.

AMBER Alert issued for child of Clayton homicide suspect


Investigators said they believed Singleton could be headed to Arkansas, Virginia, or Macon, Georgia.
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A few neighbors said they saw the U-Haul truck outside the home for a few days.

AMBER Alert issued for 2-year-old taken by woman accused in homicide


Police told ABC11 that the AMBER Alert was deployed for the child after they talked to Dior's father, who is deployed at sea with the Navy.

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