Man charged with voluntary manslaughter after fatal fight in Concord

CONCORD, N.C. — A man has been arrested after a fight behind the Gibson Mill property in Concord turned deadly.

Charles Hankerson Jr. is now facing charges of voluntary manslaughter and assault by strangulation.

Charles Edwards Hankerson Jr. (Concord Police Department)

Concord Police say they were called to a vacant lot on McGill Avenue Southwest on Labor Day for an assault. That’s when they found the victim, 38-year-old Aron Bradley, dead from apparent strangulation.

Investigators believe the victim and the suspect knew each other.

Channel 9’s Hannah Goetz spoke with Bradley’ wife on Tuesday and said over the phone that her husband was a father of five.

She said he had a criminal history and had been previously kicked off the Gibson Mill property for prior incidents but didn’t believe that played into his death.

Workers and neighbors said the violence was out of the ordinary for the area and felt very safe when visiting Gibson Mill.

“It’s not something that really happens, so I mean you’ll see people walk up and down the road, but nobody really fighting or anything,” said neighbor Helen Thorley. “I don’t worry about it, or else my grandson and daughter wouldn’t be here all the time.”

The deadly fight did not happen on the Gibson property. Officials there told Channel 9 they provided security camera footage to investigators, but the incident occurred outside the cameras’ coverage area and was not captured on video.

“We were deeply saddened to learn that someone lost their life near our campus, and our thoughts are with their family and loved ones,” their statement said.

Hankerson is being held in the Cabarrus County Jail without bond.