Man pleads guilty to stabbing death in Catawba County

CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. — A Catawba County man has been sentenced to more than three decades in prison for the 2024 stabbing death of 47‑year‑old Yolanda Lee Burrell.

Prosecutors say 50‑year‑old Wilbern Carlos Springs, of Claremont, pleaded guilty to second‑degree murder in Catawba County Superior Court on Friday, May 22, 2026, just four days before his case was set to go to trial. Judge Clifton H.

Smith sentenced Springs to 30 to 37 years in the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections.

According to investigators, the victim’s daughter called authorities on January 6, 2024, reporting that Springs was standing in her grandmother’s doorway holding a hunter’s knife.

Before deputies arrived, she saw him go through Burrell’s car and return inside with something in his hand.

When deputies reached the home, they saw Springs through a window holding a handgun.

He refused to come out for more than an hour and called Burrell’s mother, admitting he had killed her and apologizing. During the standoff, deputies say Springs told them, “Just kill me. I want to die,” and “I killed her; she is dead.”

Deputies forced entry into the home and found Burrell on the bedroom floor with Springs beside her.

He had injured his own wrists. A blood‑covered hunter’s knife and a handgun were found near him.

An autopsy by Dr. Patrick E. Lantz of Wake Forest University School of Medicine determined Burrell died from multiple stab wounds, including one that punctured her aorta.

Court records show a long history of domestic violence between the two dating back to 2011, including protective orders and prior bans against Springs being on the property.

Burrell’s family spoke in court about their loss. Her sister, Lacolia Mungro, said, “She loved being a mother… She worked in the community. She volunteered in the community… Our family, our community, is grieving.”

Her father, Purcy Burrell, added, “I loved my child, and my child loved everybody. She was a joy.”

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