Sister of slain Meck County deputy wants case to move forward

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mecklenburg County sheriff’s Deputy James Hawkins was shot and killed by his wife, Rataba Hawkins, on Jan. 15 in their home on Ashley Meadow Drive, according to authorities.

James Hawkins' sister, Shaune Hawkins Langston, spoke with Channel 9 Friday about the death of her brother. She believes he was killed under suspicious circumstances.

"Crying and screaming -- crying and screaming, and I couldn't stop," Langston told reporter Glenn Counts on the phone from her home in Virginia.

She said no one can tell her family that anything has been done in the case.

Hawkins initially told police she was forced to shoot her husband after he charged at her with a knife.

Investigators have not been able to clear Hawkins or charge her.

"He was not the party that engaged in domestic violence," Langston, who is an attorney, said.

Langston doesn’t believe Rataba Hawkins’ story and said her brother was never violent toward women.

Counts went to Rataba Hawkins' home but no one answered the door.

Langston wrote a letter to District Attorney Spencer Merriweather that said Rataba Hawkins had no remorse and urged the prosecutor to move forward with the case.

"He will not be forgotten,” Langston said. “Somebody will have to give some kind of redress for what has occurred."

The district attorney and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police could not comment because it is an ongoing investigation.

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