GASTONIA, N.C.,None — A worker at a mortuary in Gastonia was arrested Friday and charged with stealing a credit card from a dead couple and using it to make purchases.
Michelle Leatherman got out of jail on bond late Friday night. Saturday afternoon, Leatherman's neighbor reported hearing a gun go off. That neighbor told police a bullet went through a wall in his apartment about 200 feet away.
"At first we didn't know what had went on, if somebody just walked by and popped one off, or what," said that neighbor, Billy Ford.
The neighbor called 911. Police say they went to Leatherman's home and found her body.
Leatherman's brother told us, she called him after gettnig out of jail.
"It just ruined her life, she was devastated, she was so depressed and stuff, and she couldn't handle it," said her brother, Tony Lewis.
Leatherman was a manager at King Mortuary Specialists. She was charged with identity theft, financial card theft and obtaining property by false pretenses.
Police said they got involved in the case when unexplained charges were made with a credit card belonging to Randy and Laura Newman.
Officers found the Newmans' bodies in an SUV in the parking lot of the Gastonia Police Department in October. Investigators said Randy Newman shot and killed his wife, Laura, and then took his own life.
Police believe the couple's credit card was stolen while the Newmans' bodies were being prepared for cremation at King Mortuary on Hospital Drive.
"After the deaths we were notified about some credit cards being used and through some search warrants and different things we tracked it back to an IP address which allowed us to find out who it was," said Gastonia Police Sgt. Jimmy Arndt.
The card was used to buy $700 worth of items online and in local stores, according to police.
"One was at the Walmart; two were at gas stations and one was a stereo company off the Internet," said Arndt.
The alleged crime left officers stunned and reopened wounds for the Newmans' relatives and friends.
"It's just something you shouldn't do and this family is hurting and that makes them even hurt more," said Arndt.
Michelle Leatherman had not been arrested before in Gaston County.
Eyewitness News tried to contact the mortuary for a comment but no one answered the phone Friday evening, and a news crew found the business closed.