UNION COUNTY, NC (WBTV) -
A Union County man has been arrested after deputies say they connected him to a triple homicide that happened in the house next door.
According to the Union County Sheriff's Office, 24-year-old Randall Hank Morrison was arrested around 9 p.m. Wednesday night for the murders of Ronnie Dale Overcash, Jerry Wayne Marsh and Crystal Dawn Hicks.
Deputies say the three were killed at a home along the 1000 block of Landsford Road, in Marshville, on Saturday.
Morrison's arrest culminates what the Sheriff's Office has dubbed "one of the most intensive investigations conducted by the agency in recent years."
The investigation began Saturday when a neighbor, later identified as Morrison's mother, called 911 around 8 a.m. after told her that he found the bodies.
Sheriff Eddie Cathey told WBTV that Morrison claimed he found the bodies when he and his daughter went over to the home to feed the animals. Cathey said it would be a reasonable assumption that Morrison went back to crime scene to be "surprised" by the bodies "when his first scheme didn't work."
During the course of the investigation, the findings began to point to Morrison as a suspect in the killings.
"On the first day of this, we believed what he said," Sheriff Cathey said. "Until evidence indicated different."
On Monday crime scene investigators had returned to the scene of the homicide and expanded the crime scene to include Morrison's home, and towed away two cars for forensic examination.
"We assured the community that we would do our best to solve this crime, and we believe that we have lived up to that commitment," said Sheriff Eddie Cathey. "I am extremely appreciative of the investigators who have worked non-stop to solve this case, and the citizens of the county should be proud of the dedicated men and women who have worked tirelessly to pursue investigative leads, collect evidence and conduct interviews."
While Sheriff Cathey was silent on the specifics of the case, he acknowledged that evidence belonging to the three victims has been tied back to Morrison.
WBTV has learned that a shotgun and knife were used during the crime, but Cathey says the weapons have not been recovered by investigators.
Crystal Hicks was found in a wooded area near the home, while Ronnie Overcash and Jerry Marsh were found inside the house.
Cathey says investigators believe they have a motive in the killings, but they aren't releasing the specifics.
"There is a lot of things out there that we are looking at: the relationship between the two families, certainly the robbery issue – he is charged with robbery," Cathey said on Thursday morning. "So there's a lot of things that we need to put together before you can just say ‘this is the motive' in a two or three sentence."
On Monday, Overcash's son Randy said that he is puzzled why someone would want to kill his father.
"I don't have any idea of who would do such a thing, and why. He was a wonderful person," Overcash said.
Friends and neighbors tell WBTV that Marsh owns a poultry and cattle farm. Overcash helps Marsh with the business and Hicks is Overcash's girlfriend.
Overcash and Hicks lived at the residence where the killings took place. Marsh lives next door.
Overcash's former wife, Lisa Mauldin, feels that people are holding back the truth.
"This is three families that is torn over. So if there is anybody could come forward with something that could give us some kind of closure. We wish they would."
Bobby Harris works at a downtown motorcycle repair shop in Marshville.
"People were a little leery. They were scared. It usually something that doesn't happen in this town," he said.
Brittany McRorie does nails at a salon down the block.
"I think people are locking their doors a lot more often. Especially in a town like this," she said." You don't think of things happening like that around here."
Morrison has been charged with three counts of First Degree Murder, and three counts of Robbery With a Dangerous Weapon. He is currently being held in the Union County Jail, and being held without bond pending an initial District Court appearance in August.
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