Arrest made in mysterious murder of 80-year-old North Carolina woman

AULANDER, N.C. (WTVD) -- Nearly two months after the brutal and shocking killing of an 80-year-old woman, investigators have identified and arrested a man in Georgia.

The crime happened on February 20th in a small town called Aulander in Bertie County. One of Aulander's long-time residents, 80-year-old Lan Rawls, was stabbed to death inside her home, shaking the town to its core.

"Living or staying in Aulander, you don't think or can't even imagine something like this happening, and when it did, it invokes so much fear for the entire community, and it probably still does," Rawls' daughter, Cathy Lapid, said in an interview with ABC affiliate WCTI.

Investigators said a Georgia man named Robert Reid somehow got into Rawls' home, fatally stabbed Rawls in the back and critically wounded her 62-year-old caregiver Rochelle Harrell.

His arrest is an element of closure for Rawls' family but many questions remain.

"We now know the who, but we don't know the why," Lapid said. "We might not know the why for a while, if at all.

Lapid now turns her mind toward the memories she has of her mother.

"She would go for walks, and talk to everybody that she would see, she would joke and laugh and spend hours in her flower garden," Lapid said. "When I think about her life, which was a very hard one, she still found the ability to have so much love and compassion for people, and that is what I think stands out for many when they remember her."

Meanwhile, Reid remains jailed in Georgia. He's facing a slew of felony charges including first-degree murder, attempted murder and kidnapping. He is expected to be extradited to North Carolina to face those charges.