FORT BRAGG — A military judge ruled against a defense motion to dismiss for double jeopardy the case of a master sergeant accused of killing a woman and two of her daughters in North Carolina.
Col. Patrick Parrish denied the motion Wednesday. Parrish said the Army can prosecute Master Sgt. Timothy Hennis for the same offenses for which he was acquitted in civilian court in 1989.
Hennis is charged in the deaths of Kathryn Eastburn and two of her daughters, who were killed in their Fayetteville home on May 9, 1985. He was convicted in civilian court in 1986 but was acquitted at a second trial in 1989.
Hennis was recalled to active duty to face a third trial.
Double homicide, suicide reported
WILSON — Authorities in eastern North Carolina say a man shot and killed his former girlfriend and her new boyfriend before he fatally shot himself.
WRAL-TV reported that Wilson County Sheriff Wayne Gay is calling the murder-suicide near Wilson a domestic violence situation. He said the woman sought a restraining order against the suspect last year but never followed through.
Investigators said 24-year-old Paola Aguilera Ayala had returned home from her job Wednesday morning when her former boyfriend and another person drove up to her home in a pickup truck. They said the former boyfriend went into the house and killed Ayala’s new boyfriend, chased the woman into an adjacent yard and shot her, then turned the gun on himself.
Slain woman’s family: She was threatened
ROCKY POINT — The family of a young North Carolina mother found shot to death says she was being threatened.
The Star-News of Wilmington reported that 23-year-old Tiffany Dawkins’ mother said her daughter had been threatened and had moved in with her family for protection.
Kim Benton of Rocky Point, about 15 miles north of Wilmington, said she knew her daughter had been killed as soon as she learned that a body had been dumped along a state highway. Benton said in order to protect the investigation, she would not say who she thought threatened her daughter.
Police say Dawkins’ body was spotted by passers-by early Sunday. Her family says Dawkins left in her car Saturday and never returned. Police are searching for her vehicle. Dawkins had a three-year-old and a four-year-old daughter.
Greensboro teacher faces child sex counts
GREENSBORO — A middle school teacher in North Carolina has been arrested and charged with sex crimes, some of which occurred more than 15 years ago.
The News & Record of Greensboro reported that 57-year-old Harold Robert Grant Jr. of Greensboro was arrested Tuesday.
Guilford County sheriff’s deputies say the charges stem from an investigation of allegations that occurred between 1993 and 2001. They did not release additional details.
