Son charged with father's murder in Vance County
HENDERSON (WTVD) -- Authorities in Vance County have charged a son with the murder of his father and setting fire that destroyed a mobile home early Tuesday morning.
It happened just after 2:15 a.m. at 47 Fulcher Farm Lane in Henderson.
Vance County Sheriff Peter White told ABC11 that Willie McAffee II was found dead inside the mobile home after the fire.
The sheriff said the victim's son, Willie McAffee III, was taken into custody is charged with murder and arson. Investigators said the two men got into a fight before the home burned. The sheriff said detectives suspect the father died of blunt force trauma.
"I just can't believe it right now. I just can't believe it. I'm shocked," said Willie McAffee II's sister-in-law Annie Bullock.
I knew he had problems but I wouldn't think he would do this, un-uh. No, I didn't think he would do this," she continued. "I knew he had problems but I didn't think he would do this."
A neighbor who knew the victim, said he lived in the home with his wife.
"These are very nice people" Dorothy Francis said. "The mother and father, they work every day. And the sister next door, she works every day. Nice people. They didn't bother nobody ... he kept the grass cut in our park and he was a good man. He really was! And I hate that he's gone."
The sheriff said the woman neighbors referred to as the victim's wife was not physically hurt, and is staying away from the gutted home while the investigation moves forward.
Details surrounding the incident have not been released, but Francis showed ABC11 surveillance video recorded around the time of the incident.
She said it shows the victim's adult son, Willie McAffee III, pouring gasoline near her car and home.
"You could see him, doing it like this," Francis said. "The video shows it all. And it was a big blaze, come up. But my car didn't catch on fire, it just burned a little bit at the back."
Francis pointed out a portion of the video with a glowing white light, which she said was from the fire that's blamed for the damage at her neighbor's home.
She also showed scorched parts of her car, which she said she's now afraid to drive because it still smells like gasoline. She added that McAffee III had vandalized her car last month.
Francis said the video showed the man holding what appears to be a jug.
She said she and other neighbors believe the victim's son tossed the jug aside before running off the property and into some nearby woods. The jug, which was surrounded by yellow criminal investigation tape at the scene, had a pale yellow liquid inside, but it was unclear if gasoline was inside.
