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ROBESON COUNTY, N.C. (WBTW) — Robeson County authorities on Monday announced the arrest of a 55-year-old Rowland man in connection with the stabbing death of a woman in December 1996.
Homicide investigators arrested Kenneth Locklear of Rowland at about 5:30 p.m. Friday at his home, Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said at a news conference announcing the arrest. Locklear allegedly stabbed 45-year-old Margaret Bell to death at her home near Rowland on Dec. 4, 1996.
DNA evidence was used to link Locklear to the crime, Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said at the news conference. Bell lived alone at the time she was killed.
The case was initially investigated by Robeson County detectives and special agents for the North Carolina SBI, according to the sheriff’s office. After several years of investigation, Bell’s death became a cold case.
When Wilkins took office in December 2018, the sheriff’s office established a “Cold Case Investigative Division.” Bell’s case was one of the first to be selected by that group and was featured on the sheriff’s office’s Facebook page in March 2019.
In April 2021, homicide investigators conducted a search warrant and obtained DNA from Locklear, according to the sheriff’s office. Previously submitted evidence was resubmitted to the state SBI lab along with Locklear’s DNA.
Earlier this month, on Feb. 5, the state lab asked for the resubmission of a particular piece of evidence, the sheriff’s office said. On Feb. 13, homicide investigators were notified of the findings. Locklear was arrested the day after.
A member of Bell’s family attended and spoke at the news conference.
The sheriff’s office also recently announced an arrest in another high-profile murder case in which the suspect had been on the run for 18 years.
Authorities announced Omar Gray’s arrest on Jan. 31. He was captured in Los Angeles under the alias “Timothy Bloxson” and returned to Robeson County to face murder charges in the July 2006 killing of St. Pauls resident Patrick Carlton Ashley.
Gray’s indictment on murder charges in May 2007 sparked a nationwide search that landed him on “America’s Most Wanted” and an Interpol Red Notice.
This is a developing story. Count on News13 for updates.