The [Henderson] Daily Dispatch
OXFORD -- Scott Morris has been jailed without bond on a charge of first-degree murder and on a charge of the burning of a dwelling, both in connection with the September 2008 disappearance of his wife, Kelly Currin Morris.
At a news conference Wednesday, Granville County Sheriff Brin Wilkins said Scott Morris was arrested Tuesday evening after law enforcement on Monday received information leading to skeletal remains being discovered in a wooded area off Sam Moss Hayes Road in the southern part of the Granville County.
The N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner identified the remains as those of Kelly Currin Morris through dental records, Wilkins said.
Scott Morris, 35, of 113 W. Church St., Creedmoor, is scheduled to be in court at 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 2, documents show.
Wilkins thanked everyone for their dedication and determination in assisting his office in finding Kelly Currin Morris. And Wilkins added, "I hope that this arrest will bring some closure to Kelly's family."
The sheriff, flanked by law enforcement officers and investigators and standing before camera crews, journalists and residents in the County Commission meeting room, spent approximately two minutes reading from a prepared statement, then left, saying he could not provide more information because of the ongoing probe.
Meantime, an emergency order signed by Chief District Judge Daniel Finch granted temporary custody of Kelly Currin Morris' and Scott Morris' 6-year-old daughter, Carolyn Haley Morris, to Kelly Currin Morris' father, Pat Currin, and stepmother, Juanita Currin.
A custody hearing is set for 9:30 a.m. Friday. Carolyn Haley Morris had been in the custody of Scott Morris.
The judge, in signing the documents, said the findings of fact included that false statements by Scott Morris to investigators "were made with the intent to deceive them."
And the findings of fact included that there is a "high probability" that Scott Morris' father, Jimmy Morris, "was also involved in the coverup" of the homicide.
The first signs of trouble surfaced shortly before 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 4, 2008, when a caller to Emergency 911 reported a fire at Kelly Currin Morris' residence off Tump Wilkins Road southeast of Stem.
Sometime between 4:30 and 5 p.m., the then-28-year-old Kelly Currin Morris' 2005 Honda Accord was found abandoned approximately a mile away at a future subdivision, with her cell phone, pocketbook and other personal belongings still inside the car.
On Sept. 12, the State Bureau of Investigation concluded the house fire had been set deliberately. Then-Sheriff David Smith next declared Scott Morris a person of interest in the disappearance of Kelly Currin Morris and in connection with the arson.
By Sept. 25, the first SBI documents were made public and they showed statements by Scott Morris about the vanishing of Kelly Currin Morris were inconsistent.
The SBI in documents additionally said that Scott Morris and Kelly Currin Morris had marital problems and that sources specifically said the couple had separated before and had discussed divorcing.
"In the past, Scott punched holes in the wall during arguments and once threw a computer out of a window," the SBI said in documents.
The documents pointed out, however, that there was no evidence showing Kelly Currin Morris disappeared of her own accord and that no witness believed she would ever leave her two girls. The other girl has a different father than Scott Morris.
Scott Morris had declined to make any comments to the Dispatch about the probe.
News reports started appearing Tuesday evening about a search having been conducted off Sam Moss Hayes Road (Subsequent reports have said the remains of Kelly Currin Morris were found just inside a fence of the Tar River Fox Pen, which is a private hunting reserve near Creedmoor).
And when bulletins on Tuesday evening about a news conference started appearing on the Internet, Wilkins, when reached by this reporter, acknowledged he had called one for 4 p.m. Wednesday, but said he could not immediately say anything else about the matter.
"I apologize for not being able to, but we've got to do some things here tonight," Wilkins said. "And I wish I could, but I can't right now."
Wilkins, when asked about whether Scott Morris remained a person of interest, immediately replied, "Oh yeah, he's of interest."
After Scott Morris was booked later in the evening at the Magistrate's Office, which is next to the Sheriff's Department but in a separate building, attempts by this reporter and representatives of other news organizations to obtain additional information were unsuccessful.
And the magistrate on duty, under questioning by a reporter, said that the arrest of Scott Morris was not public record.
The magistrate said such information would have to come from the Superior Court Clerk's Office.
A clerk who processes criminal court files told the Dispatch on Wednesday morning she had not received any paperwork on Scott Morris. The paperwork was made public before lunchtime. And Wilkins at the news conference said Scott Morris' first appearance in court was at 3 p.m.
