https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006107235654
https://www.facebook.com/michael.t.norris
https://wlos.com/news/local/bodies-f...bridgeton-home
BRIDGETON, Craven County ' An Ayden man has been charged with murder after deputies said he shot and killed his grandparents at their home in Bridgeton.
According to the Craven County Sheriff's Office, deputies were called to a home on Dragstrip Road on at 4:38 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon for a welfare check, where they found Sandra Smith Hoyle and Andrew Percy Hoyle dead.
During the course of their investigation, officials said they learned the couple's vehicle was missing and identified their grandson, 30-year-old Michael Tanner Norris of Ayden, as a suspect. Deputies said he killed them with a high-powered rifle, stole their car and fled; they add that he lived in the home.
A BOLO was issued for the vehicle and Norris. He was found and arrested by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office and the North Carolina Highway Patrol without incident in Belhaven, and officials said he was under the influence of something but could not say exactly what. They add that a weapon, believed to be the murder weapon, was recovered from the vehicle.
Norris was transported back to Craven County, where he was interviewed regarding the homicides. Investigators said he has been charged with two open counts of murder and is being held in the Craven County Jail without bond pending a first court appearance.
The Craven County Sheriff's Office said the motive is most likely drug-related.
'These were good people down here at the end of this road," Sheriff Chip Hughes said. "It's just a shame that this has happened, but this is a direct result of what drugs can do to somebody and alter their mind and causing to do something like this - it's a sad evening."
The investigation is ongoing, but deputies said no further arrests are expected. Hughes thanks Craven County Emergency Services, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office and North Carolina Highway Patrol for their assistance.