Local

Husband posts Facebook poem hours before charged in wife's death

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Channel 9 is pushing for answers after a Charlotte woman's mysterious murder and her husband’s arrest.

Eyewitness News anchor Brittney Johnson uncovered a disturbing message he posted on social media just hours before his arrest.

[READ MORE: Husband charged with wife's homicide, Charlotte's 50th of 2017]

Police came to the home of Heidi and Alton Morton on July 7 and found the 35-year-old stay-at-home mother unresponsive. Just 12 days later, they arrested her husband and charged him with her death.

Johnson found a poem that Alton Morton posted to Facebook just after 11 a.m. on July 19. He wrote, "Rest in peace Heidi," declaring his love for her over a photo of their family at a cemetery.

Neighbors were disturbed to learn that hours after that post appeared, Alton walked into the police department and authorities charged him with killing Heidi.

“You don't think a quiet sort of pastoral neighborhood like this, you'll have to deal with that but you never really know who your neighbors are I guess,” one neighbor said.

Other neighbors told Channel 9 they only typically saw the family driving down the road.

“It's nerve-wracking to know that something can happen that close to your house," said neighbor Kim Beall.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions about exactly what happened to Heidi. Her death marks Charlotte's 50th homicide of the year and is one of 13 domestic violence homicide cases.

[PHOTOS: Suspects in 2017 homicide cases]

[PHOTOS: Homicide victims of 2017]

Her heartbroken family didn't want to speak on camera but shared one thing with Johnson. They want justice for Heidi, who they described as a funny woman with a sweet soul, and for Lily, the little girl she left behind.

Alton Morton is being held at the Mecklenburg County Jail on a $1 million bond.