Lynn Keel makes first court appearance on charges he killed his wife Diana Keel

NASHVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- The man accused of killing his wife in Nash County made his first North Carolina court Tuesday morning.

He appeared in a Nash County court around 9:30 a.m.

Before his court appearance, Nash County Chief Deputy Brandon Medina said there was more investigating to do, but he felt the case was solid.

"We're going to follow up on every lead. There are some leads that we still have to follow up on in that case just to make sure that everything--I'm satisfied, you know with having almost 20 years of investigative experience, that that case, in my opinion, is a solid case."

Rexford Lynn Keel, 57, faces first-degree murder charges in the death of Diana Keel.

Diana's body was found on March 12 in Edgecomb County--more than 20 miles from her home--after she'd been reported missing for several days.

Investigators said Lynn Keel was interrogated and released. As more evidence was uncovered, investigators determined he was responsible for his wife's death.

When investigators went to arrest him, he was gone.

A multi-day search eventually ended when Arizona law enforcement caught the suspect and placed him under arrest.

He has since been extradited back to North Carolina.

Lynn Keel's first wife, Elizabeth Bess Edwards Keel, also died. Her death was ruled an accident, with investigators being told she fell and hit her head on the corner of a set of concrete stairs.

Medina said the case on her death has not officially been reopened. However he said investigators will talk to the District Attorney and figure out the proper way to proceed in investigating her death.

"There are some questionable things in there that I would like to maybe get individuals to expand a little bit more on, to give us a clear picture of what actually happened," Medina said.