Durham family seek answers after beloved father found dead in car 70 miles away: 'We're devastated'

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Gbedee family is mourning over the loss of a beloved father who was found shot and killed in the back seat of a car in Johnston County on Sunday.

"We're devastated," Emmanuel Gbedee Jr. said. "We're just we're in total shock, loss for words that something this inhumane would come this close to our house and to our family."

Standing next to his grieving mother, Gbedee Jr. said the Durham family is left with a lot of questions on their mind, including how his father, Emmanuel Kwame Gbedee, 57, was found dead more than 70 miles away from home in Benson just a few hours after they last saw him.

"That evening he took my little sister to a 16-year-old party," Gbedee Jr. said. "We're not sure what his whereabouts were after that, but the last text that my mom received was around 11:28 p.m. He said, "Just text me."

Gbedee Jr. said his father was found early Sunday morning around 1 a.m.

According to the Johnston County Sheriff's Office, deputies came to the 2500 block of Holly Grove Road in Benson for a suspicious person in the area. They were also told that a car was seen there with emergency flashers on.

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State Highway Patrol was also contacted about the car potentially being involved in an accident. The trooper who arrived first said he found Gbedee dead in the back of the car. No suspects have been identified.

"There wasn't anything that I think he did to bring this about," Gbedee Jr. said. "He wasn't in the wrong place at the wrong time. He's a pretty intentional person."