On the morning of January 1, 2015, 54-year-old Edward Campbell and his 21-year-old son Eric, a pair of criminals from Texas, invaded the home of Jerome and Dora Faulkner in Oxford, North Carolina. Before that, on September 2014, the elder Campbell assaulted his own wife with a firearm and had since jumped bail on that case.
After shooting to death Mr. Faulkner, 73 and his 62-year-old wife Dora, a pair of randomly picked victims, Edward Campbell and his son placed their bodies beneath a mattress in the back of Mr. Faulkner's red Chevrolet pickup truck. They set fire to the Faulkner house and with the father behind the wheel of Mr. Faulkner's pickup, and his son Eric driving Mrs. Faulkner's white Chevrolet SUV, the killers headed west in the stolen vehicles.
The retired Mr. Faulkner had been a volunteer fire chief and his wife a registered nurse.
At four in the afternoon of the double murder, Lewisburg, West Virginia police officers Nicholas Sams, a rookie just out of the police academy and his partner Lieutenant Jeremy Dove, while driving on Interstate 64 in Greenbrier County, spotted the stolen SUV driven by Eric Campbell. The officers pulled the vehicle over.
As the West Virginia police officers sat in their patrol car behind Mrs. Faulkner's SUV, Edward Campbell pulled off the highway, got out of the stolen red pickup truck and approached the two officers with his handgun drawn. When he reached the police car Edward Campbell fired several shots into the vehicle. One bullet entered officer Sam's back and another grazed his head. Campbell shot Lieutenant Dove in the chest and neck. Both officers were wearing bullet-proof vests.
One of the wounded police officers returned fire, striking Edward Campbell in the leg. Campbell limped into a wooded area where, ten minutes later a deputy with the Greenbrier County Sheriff's Office took him into custody.
Shortly after his father's arrest, Eric Campbell, having driven away from the shooting scene, pulled off Interstate 64 and waited for officers to arrest him. When officers searched the stolen red pickup truck they discovered the bodies of the murdered North Carolina couple.
Paramedics rushed the wounded police officers to the Greenbrier Valley Medical Center where they were listed in stable condition. Edward Campbell was hospitalized for the bullet wound in his leg.
A Greenbrier County prosecutor charged the father, Edward Campbell, with two counts of malicious assault and attempted murder of a police officer. Back in North Carolina a prosecutor charged Edward and Eric Campbell with double murder, arson, burglary and car theft. In the meantime, the suspects were held in West Virginia under $500,000 bond.
Eric and Edward Campbell were extradited to North Carolina on the murder, arson, burglary and car theft charges in February 2015. The following month, Greenville County District Attorney Michael Waters, in an April 8, 2015 hearing in Oxford, North Carolina, petitioned the court to seek the death penalty against Eric Campbell. The judge granted the request.
In March 2016, the father, Edward Campbell, committed suicide while in custody awaiting his trials.
Eric Campbell, facing the death penalty, told investigators that his father was a drug addict and methamphetamine manufacturer who had physically and psychologically abused him for years. Eric Campbell also claimed to have been diagnosed with ADHD as a child. He said he had been prescribed Adderall that his father had stolen from him for re-sale.
In August 2017 a jury sitting in Oxford, North Carolina, after three hours of deliberation, found Eric Campbell guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. A month later Superior Court Judge Henry Hight sentenced Campbell to life in prison. In speaking directly to the convicted double murderer, Judge Hight said, "You need to thank God and this jury and the fact you're in the state of North Carolina that your life has been spared."
After shooting to death Mr. Faulkner, 73 and his 62-year-old wife Dora, a pair of randomly picked victims, Edward Campbell and his son placed their bodies beneath a mattress in the back of Mr. Faulkner's red Chevrolet pickup truck. They set fire to the Faulkner house and with the father behind the wheel of Mr. Faulkner's pickup, and his son Eric driving Mrs. Faulkner's white Chevrolet SUV, the killers headed west in the stolen vehicles.
The retired Mr. Faulkner had been a volunteer fire chief and his wife a registered nurse.
At four in the afternoon of the double murder, Lewisburg, West Virginia police officers Nicholas Sams, a rookie just out of the police academy and his partner Lieutenant Jeremy Dove, while driving on Interstate 64 in Greenbrier County, spotted the stolen SUV driven by Eric Campbell. The officers pulled the vehicle over.
As the West Virginia police officers sat in their patrol car behind Mrs. Faulkner's SUV, Edward Campbell pulled off the highway, got out of the stolen red pickup truck and approached the two officers with his handgun drawn. When he reached the police car Edward Campbell fired several shots into the vehicle. One bullet entered officer Sam's back and another grazed his head. Campbell shot Lieutenant Dove in the chest and neck. Both officers were wearing bullet-proof vests.
One of the wounded police officers returned fire, striking Edward Campbell in the leg. Campbell limped into a wooded area where, ten minutes later a deputy with the Greenbrier County Sheriff's Office took him into custody.
Shortly after his father's arrest, Eric Campbell, having driven away from the shooting scene, pulled off Interstate 64 and waited for officers to arrest him. When officers searched the stolen red pickup truck they discovered the bodies of the murdered North Carolina couple.
Paramedics rushed the wounded police officers to the Greenbrier Valley Medical Center where they were listed in stable condition. Edward Campbell was hospitalized for the bullet wound in his leg.
A Greenbrier County prosecutor charged the father, Edward Campbell, with two counts of malicious assault and attempted murder of a police officer. Back in North Carolina a prosecutor charged Edward and Eric Campbell with double murder, arson, burglary and car theft. In the meantime, the suspects were held in West Virginia under $500,000 bond.
Eric and Edward Campbell were extradited to North Carolina on the murder, arson, burglary and car theft charges in February 2015. The following month, Greenville County District Attorney Michael Waters, in an April 8, 2015 hearing in Oxford, North Carolina, petitioned the court to seek the death penalty against Eric Campbell. The judge granted the request.
In March 2016, the father, Edward Campbell, committed suicide while in custody awaiting his trials.
Eric Campbell, facing the death penalty, told investigators that his father was a drug addict and methamphetamine manufacturer who had physically and psychologically abused him for years. Eric Campbell also claimed to have been diagnosed with ADHD as a child. He said he had been prescribed Adderall that his father had stolen from him for re-sale.
In August 2017 a jury sitting in Oxford, North Carolina, after three hours of deliberation, found Eric Campbell guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. A month later Superior Court Judge Henry Hight sentenced Campbell to life in prison. In speaking directly to the convicted double murderer, Judge Hight said, "You need to thank God and this jury and the fact you're in the state of North Carolina that your life has been spared."
Both of the police officers survived their wounds.
Ed was only 5 ft 6. He wasn't like that when we knew him when he was 20. He was gentle and worked hard to become a nurse. We got to see the best side of Ed for a couple years.
ReplyDeleteHe was a piece of shit
Delete