Henderson County District Attorney Greg Newman said he plans to seek the death penalty in the case. Stroupe faces charges of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, felony larceny of a motor vehicle in Henderson County as well as numerous other charges in Transylvania and McDowell counties. District Attorney Greg Newman said the case is on hold because jury trials are not happening during the COVID-19 pandemic. His trial, which has been delayed several times, is being delayed again. Stroupe was spotted in Yancey County before being apprehended in Marion where NC HWY 80 meets US 70 early Thursday morning. He was captured on foot after fleeing through a tomato field around 1:30 a.m, McDowell County Sheriff Dudley Greene said. Stroupe Trial Delayed Again JLatest Updates, Local News Stroupe remains in jail, awaiting trial for the killing of Bryson. In an email to members of the media, Allison Nock, a community relations media specialist for the Henderson County Sheriff's Office, asked businesses in Sevierville, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge to check their security cameras for any sign of Stroupe. The Henderson County Sheriff's Office said in a press release that Stroupe crossed into eastern Tennessee near Gatlinburg and Sevierville sometime after 10 a.m. 80 during a police chase that led to his capture. At some point after that, Stroupe turned onto N.C. 280 and then onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. Henderson County Sheriff Charles McDonald said in a Thursday news conference at Mills River United Methodist Church that Stroupe is believed to have taken Bryson onto N.C. His body was located Sunday night by a member of the Skyland Fire and Rescue who was also a relative of Bryson's. Police believe Bryson was killed soon after his kidnapping in a corn field in Arden. Wednesday as he was going to pick up a family member. The Mills River runs along North Mills River Road and is near where a motorist believes he spotted Phillip Michael Stroupe II in the river Monday night.Īuthorities believe Bryson was kidnapped in an area near where Stroupe was sighted by the motorist between 8:35 and 8:40 a.m. A press release provided to members of the media listed 38 different organizations from the local, state and federal level that assisted in the search, though they said the list was not comprehensive.Ī break in the investigation came when a passing motorist spotted Stroupe last Monday night in the North Fork of Mills River near North Mills River Road. Popular sections of Pisgah National Forest were closed for four and a half days as up to 70 law enforcement officers combed heavy terrain around the clock. Henderson County Sheriff Charles McDonald says Stroupe will likely face murder charges in the coming days, in addition to multiple charges levied in Buncombe, Transylvania, Henderson, Yancey and McDowell counties.Stroupe later threatened a fisherman with a revolver to give him a ride, but the man was able to persuade him to leave, authorities said. Authorities believe Bryson was kidnapped Wednesday. Philip Michael Stroupe II was driving Bryson’s truck when authorities found and captured him in Yancey on Thursday after a search that closed parts of the Pisgah National Forest for days. The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that a member of the Skyland Fire and Rescue Department found the body of Thomas Bryson in a corn field in Arden on Sunday night. The body of a 68-year-old man believed to have been kidnapped by a North Carolina suspect who eluded officers for six days has been found. Henderson Sheriff Charles McDonald says Stroupe II likely will face murder charges. The elder Stroupe was being held in the Henderson County jail. led police on a dayslong manhunt through Pisgah National Forest, after which he allegedly kidnapped and killed Bryson, stealing his truck and fleeing in it. Bryson’s body was found in a corn field in Arden on Sunday night. Phillip Michael Stroupe II was arrested Thursday while driving a pickup belonging to 68-year-old Thomas Bryson of Mills River. Henderson County sheriff’s spokeswoman Allison Nock said in a news release that 65-year-old Phillip Michael Stroupe of Burnsville was arrested early Monday and accused of helping his son avoid arrest on a kidnapping charge. The father of a man who eluded police for six days in the western North Carolina mountains has been arrested on accessory kidnapping charges.
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