Bodies found days apart along nature trail. Both were murdered, NC sheriff says
Two decomposed bodies have been found within five days at a park in western North Carolina, and both cases are classified as murders, according to investigators.
Read more Concert review: Noah Kahan made a Raleigh football stadium feel like New England
The discoveries were made July 21 and July 25 near the Mountain Nature Trail at Simpson Park in Glen Alpine. The county-operated facility is about an 80-mile drive northwest from uptown Charlotte.
Two suspects have been arrested, officials said, but details of a motive have not been released.
“On July 20, 2026, the Burke County Sheriff’s Office … received a report of suspicious circumstances on the nature trail,” the sheriff’s office said in a July 25 news release.
“On July 21, 2026, with the assistance of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, human remains were located near the nature trail. … On July 25, additional human remains were located near the nature trail.”
Read more Concert review: Noah Kahan made a Raleigh football stadium feel like New England
One of the victims has been identified as 31-year-old Raheim McClain Murray of Morganton, the sheriff’s office said. Court documents report he died July 13.
The identity of the second victim has yet to be confirmed, the sheriff’s office said.
An investigation led to Jamar Quarmaine Propst, 36, and Tosha Lee Lewis, 36, being identified as suspects, and they were arrested on July 25, the sheriff’s office said.
Propst and Lewis are charged with two counts of first degree murder and felony conspiracy, officials said. They live in Hickory, about a 30-mile drive east from Glen Alpine, court records show.
Read more Michael Whatley is shunning some media. It’s a risky strategy | Opinion
A cause of death for the two victims has not been released.
