A 22-year-old man could face the death penalty after his own mum turned him over to the police for murder.
North Carolina man Charles Michael Haywood has been charged with murder in the first degree after his mum took him to the police station.
He was arrested in connection with the death of 42-year-old Margaret Bracey, who was stabbed to death at around 6:40pm on 24 August while working at Exotic Hemp Company in Surf City.
CCTV footage from the store shows an individual entering and speaking with Bracey before grabbing for money when she opened the cash register and stabbing her several times.
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Around $750 worth of money and items were stolen from the store, while the alleged attacker removed his sweatpants and bandana and left them at the scene.
Police followed a trail of blood to a point around 700 feet away from a home Haywood lived in with his mother.
According to documents obtained by WECT, Haywood's mother got in touch with the police after seeing pictures from the surveillance footage.
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Believing her son to be the man in the pictures, she brought him to the police where he was interviewed by officers and ultimately arrested for first degree murder.
The documents say Haywood's mother saw her son come home with his shirt wrapped around his hand and went to take a shower.
When she checked his hand she saw that there was a cut on his hand that needed medical attention and took him to the hospital.
The next day she was taking him to the police station and the Surf City Police Department said Haywood turned himself over to officers at around 10:25am on 25 August.
Police have since seized the clothes they believe were used in the alleged incident, including the shirt Haywood used to wrap around his hand after his mother said he'd thrown it away.
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They also took medical records and surveillance footage from Onslow Memorial Hospital where Haywood was treated for his hand injury.
The 22-year-old was jailed without bond and will appear in court next week in relation to the death of Bracey.
WWay3 reports that the office of district attorney Ben David has said that if Haywood is convicted then the trial 'has the potential to be a death penalty case'.
Surf City mayor Doug Medlin said he couldn't 'understand something like this', saying that the robbery ending in death 'really shocks the town'.
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Joe Harker