Two Bodies & One Big Coincidence

Raeford is a small town in Hoke County in south-central North Carolina, about 4.3 square miles, roughly ninety minutes from Raleigh and two hours from Charlotte. It grew up around the Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad, which reached the settlement in 1899, and took its name from the Ray and the Ford in the names of John McCray and A. W. Willaford, who ran a turpentine distillery and a general store. Hoke County was formed in 1911 and named for the Confederate general Robert F. Hoke. By the time of the story Raeford had a population of 4,859, a median household income of $33,266, and a property crime rate almost double the national average.

Fay Puryear was a single mother in her thirties with three children, Karen, Theresa and Brad, who were in and out of foster care through the 1970s. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it They met at a nightclub in Raleigh; the romance faded and they stayed friends.

By 1980 Fay had her children back. Karen was about fifteen. this part of the story is covered for now In late March 1983 Karen gave birth to his son, Clifford Allen, known as little Cliffy. The baby died at five weeks; the death certificate gave sudden infant death syndrome. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

On 15 September 1983 Fay obtained a juvenile petition to keep Theresa in school. Three days later Theresa disappeared. The accepted story, repeated in the newspapers, was that she had run away with Mexican migrant farm workers. Police treated her as a runaway and put little effort into looking for her. Fay complained that she could not see the chief of police and that the State Bureau of Investigation would not get involved without a police request. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed Karen left him in June 1985 and found a home for herself and her daughter in Raleigh.

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it In October 1985 Karen took out a criminal complaint for non-support; a hearing was set for 20 November. this part of the story is covered for now Karen spoke to a paralegal at legal aid in Wake County, Celia Mansari, on 22 October. details of the account remain covered until revealed Karen never followed through on the custody proceedings.

At about 3.30 in the afternoon on 14 November 1985 Karen went to the daycare centre to collect her children. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Karen put Crystal in her car and followed him. The daycare staff watched them go. Karen was never seen again. this part of the story is covered for now Karen was reported missing on 18 November. Her car was found at Raleigh-Durham Airport, where it had been parked since 15 November, after a parking attendant heard the name Karen Marie Puryear on the news on 18 January 1986.

details of the account remain covered until revealed While sheriff's deputies secured the scene they found a second shallow grave about fifty feet away. The bodies were taken to Chapel Hill and identified as Karen and Theresa Puryear. Both had been shot in the back of the head and both had other gunshot wounds. Both were naked and wrapped in layers of black and clear plastic and cloth sheets. Theresa, who had been dead for more than two years, had a second wound to the face and was missing the tips of her fingers; Karen, dead about two months, was missing the lower part of her right arm and had a three-and-a-half-inch post-mortem cut on her lower abdomen. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

The state's case included a receipt, found in the house, for a box of Best Pack Good and Tough trash bags bought at a Big Star supermarket in Fayetteville for $1.09 on 16 September 1983, the day Theresa disappeared. SBI forensic chemist Troy Hamlin matched the torn end of a bag from Theresa's grave to a bag in the house, and bags around Karen's body came from the same box. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed The state elected to try Karen's murder first and was allowed to introduce evidence about Theresa's death as evidence of identity, because the two deaths were so similar in manner and disposal. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed Photographs of nude women, a notebook listing 112 former sexual partners and photographs of Karen partly nude were admitted. The defence argued that the relationship with Theresa was volatile and the killing unpremeditated, and that the loss of the plastic wrapping and sheets from a lab storage shed had denied him the chance to test them. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed He was 79 in 2020, held at Harnett Correctional Institution.

Theresa was buried at Raleigh Memorial Park in Raleigh, in the Garden of Meditation. Karen's grave was not found.