Pair charged with allegedly killing victims over $75K inheritance

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — Tasha Lewis and Jamar Propst face first-degree murder charges in the shooting deaths of Raheim and Carla Murray. Search warrants filed in Burke County indicate the motive for the killings was a $75,000 inheritance Murray had recently received.

The investigation began at Benfield Park near Glen Alpine after an employee discovered two shovels partially covered by debris. Authorities later located the couple’s bodies buried along a nature trail within the park.

The suspects knew the Murrays and that Lewis stayed at their home the night of the killings. She unlocked the back door so Propst could come in and kill them in their sleep, according to court documents.

Following the burial, court documents say Propst and Lewis moved into the victims’ residence with their children. Propst also allegedly took possession of the couple’s cellphones.

Investigators allege that Propst used the victims’ faces post-mortem to bypass facial recognition security on the devices. This allowed him to unlock the phones and change their passcodes. After gaining access, the suspects are accused of transferring $19,000 from Murray’s Cash App account.

At the time of the homicides, Propst was out of jail on bond for the high-profile murder case of Eddie Greene in Catawba County. That bond was set at $100,000.

Dalton Berry worked with the Murrays at the Morganton Hemp store where he says she talked often about getting a large inheritance.

“For at least a year prior to this, she had talked about getting a lot of inheritance,” Berry said.

He was stunned to learn that the couple was killed.

“It’s crazy,” Berry said. “It’s really something. Honestly, I didn’t know what to think when I read it. I thought it was fake at first.”

“If somebody was in trouble or they needed help, she was always there for them,” said Iris Phillips, one of the victims’ mothers. “I just can’t believe what they’ve done.”

Much of the information regarding the motive and the use of the victims’ cellphones was obtained after investigators interviewed Propst. Both suspects recently appeared before a judge in connection with the case. Propst and Lewis are charged with first-degree murder.

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