Judge doubles bond in case of slain Rowan County woman

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — A suspect in the slaying of a Rowan County woman pleaded guilty in court Thursday.

Libby Kerns’ body was found in 2022 in Huntersville six months after she disappeared.

“She was a good loving mother,” said Sampson Kerns, the victim’s son.

Libby Kerns’ son said his mother fell on hard times years ago. She was addicted to drugs and turned to sex for work.

Prosecutors said in August 2021, Christopher Nailor and his girlfriend, Cody Graham, picked Libby Kerns up for sex and took her to his trailer off Comanche Road in Huntersville.

That’s where prosecutors said Nailor tortured Libby Kerns, locked her in a bathroom, then later shot her in the back.

Nailer buried her in his backyard days later, prosecutors said.

“The things they did to my mother, you wouldn’t do to animals,” Sampson Kerns said.

Detectives said months later, someone came forward and told police what they had heard.

That tip led to the arrests of Nailor and Graham and to the victim’s body.

Surveillance cameras were on Nailor’s trailer and prosecutors said a video helped police identify Libby Kerns.

Judge Louis Trosch doubled two of Nailor’s bonds Thursday.

“I was very happy. I was ecstatic,” Sampson Kerns said.

The defense claims Nailor’s girlfriend held him at gunpoint and forced him to do the crime.

Trosch, who has been on the bench for 24 years, said the allegations were shocking.

No trial date has been set.

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