5th person found dead in Goldsboro without signs of foul play

GOLDSBORO, N.C. (WTVD) -- For the fifth time in a week, Goldsboro investigators found a middle aged person dead without any signs of foul play.

Goldsboro Police Department said the most recent death happened around midday Friday. They were called to a home on East Ash Street where they found a man's body.

The man was later identified as Bryan Lee Jackson, 42. His cause of death has not been confirmed, but investigators said they did not suspect foul play.

The previous four deaths have been seen as possibly related to tainted drugs. Goldsboro officials said it was too early to officially blame the deaths on tainted drugs, but they said they were highly concerned about the rapid succession deaths and the possibility of drug contamination being to blame.

ABC11 spoke with Kayleen Fisher, the older sister of Shawnell Alves -- one of the four people found over the weekend. Fisher said her sister had battled drug addiction since she was a teenager and had recently started using again.

Fisher shared her story in hopes of preventing a similar tragedy in the future. She said the series of deaths in Goldsboro has left her wondering why there aren't more resources available for people in the throes of addiction.

"I'm angry and sad at the same time. You know, I'm just because I think this could have been prevented," she said.

That's a reality that's eating at Beverly Weeks, too. Weeks runs Cry Freedom Missions, a Goldsboro-based organization with a safehouse and outreach program for women in crisis, including addiction.

Weeks said she knew two of the four people found dead over the weekend.

"I pulled away in my car after losing two clients and I wept. I wept," she said. Weeks is also a councilwoman in Goldsboro, saying she'd support more resources for mental health support and homelessness in the city.