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Man charged in ‘senseless’ slaying By COURTNEY MARTIN, LTN Staff Writer Dec. 28, 2001 - An arrest was made Thursday in a fatal stabbing described by deputies as a completely random act of violence. “It was a senseless murder,” Lt. Ronnie Matthews, chief detective with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said of the Saturday stabbing death of 20-year-old Jeremy Phillip Mauney of Lincolnton. “It’s the first murder I’ve ever investigated that had no motive at all,” said Matthews, who has investigated homicides for 15 years. “There was no robbery, no drugs involved, no domestic, no fight, nothing.” In fact, said Matthews, the two Lincolnton men were not even acquaintances. Mauney, of 458 Sweet Briar Lane, was stabbed in the heart with a knife. He was walking on U.S. 321 Business near Victory Grove Church Road Saturday night at the time of the assault. The suspect, Charles Irven Jonathan Moss, 24, of 1067 Calloway Road was arrested Thursday at his home and taken before a magistrate. “He gave no resistance (when arrested),” said Matthews. “He has given a statement and been very cooperative.” The murder “was hard to investigate because there was no motive,” said Matthews. On Wednesday, Matthews said he received information about possible witnesses to the stabbing. Two of the witnesses came forward to report the incident and a third eventually also cooperated with investigators. The three were in a car with the suspect driving south on U.S. 321 Business when they passed Mauney. Mauney “was walking from his dad’s house (on Sweet Briar Lane), where he lived, to his grandparents’ home,” said Matthews. Witnesses in the car with Moss said he turned the car around to go back to Mauney. The suspect allegedly got out of the car, stabbed Mauney once through the heart, dragged him to the side of the road and left. The witnesses told investigators they didn’t know Mauney was dead until a Monday newspaper report. When Mauney was found around 10:22 p.m., about a tenth of a mile south of Victory Grove Church Road, the incident was reported as a struck pedestrian. Mauney was reportedly dead at the scene. The N.C. Highway Patrol responded and launched an initial investigation. Mauney’s body was sent to Winston-Salem to the medical examiner who determined the cause of death to be a single stab wound, the only injury the victim sustained. The investigation was then officially turned over to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office to investigate as a murder. Following his arrest Thursday, Moss was charged with first degree murder and jailed without bond. He was scheduled to go before a judge for his first appearance today in district court. Investigators said Moss has a criminal history, mostly consisting of breaking, entering and larceny. There are no violent crimes on his record. —————————— Staff writer Courtney Martin can be reached at 704-735-3031 or courtneymartin@ltnews.com
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© 2001 Lincoln Times-News |
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