Local

Body exhumed; family wants justice after 21 years

CLEVELAND COUNTY, N.C. — On Thursday morning, the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office, along with the State Bureau of Investigations, began exhuming the body of Judith McMurry who was killed in 1993.
 
The purpose of the exhumation is to hopefully gather evidence that can lead to the arrest and conviction of the people responsible for her death, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The exhumation began at 11 a.m. at the Rose Hill Cemetery in Fallston.

Painful memories have resurfaced for the victim's family and they said their lives have been empty without McMurry. 

The 53-year-old mother was found dead inside her office at a Cleveland County mobile home park.

She had been stabbed and the killer tried to set a fire to cover up the crime.
 
Karen White's father found McMurry's body; she remembers when he called her that day.
 
"No it's not a call you get every day, it was definitely terrible," Karen White said. "She really didn't deserve that."
 
Karen White's daughter Emily White was just eight years old when she learned of her grandmother's death.
 
"I was really young but I do know I was devastated cause she lives right next door to us," Emily White said.
 
McMurry's family is hopeful the person who took away their loved one will finally brought to justice.
 
"You want closure to something like that and it's been no closure yet," Karen White said.