Brandi Reynolds, a longtime postal worker and mother of two, was kidnapped and murdered while delivering mail in North Carolina. Her two daughters were left orphaned, her husband having died in a car accident in December.
The 35-year-old was found dead following a call for help to authorities in Hays, North Carolina, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement, according to NBC News.
“I can confirm that Brandi Reynolds was delivering mail on her route when the incident occurred,” U.S. Postal Inspector Michael Martel said.
Brandi Reynolds murder motive
Reynolds was allegedly killed by William Craig Durham, 56, of the community of Roaring River. He was charged with first-degree kidnapping and murder by prosecutors in Wilkes County. He was arrested on the day of the murder, and remained in Wilkes County Jail on Tuesday, according to a third-party inmate information service used by the county.
While the exact motive for the murder is unclear, we do know that Durham allegedly restrained Reynolds and removed “the victim from one place to another without the consent of the victim, according to an arrest report obtained by the Charlotte Observer. He shot Reynolds dead.
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A warrant filed in district court claimed that Durham committed kidnapping “by unlawfully restraining the victim, removing the victim from one place to another without the consent of the victim.” It added that Durham carried out the alleged kidnapping “for the purpose of terrorizing” Reynolds and “doing serious bodily injury” to her.
Durham has a “significant criminal record,” district court Judge Robert J. Crumpton said, ordering that he remain in custody without bond. State prison records showed that Durham previously served time for second-degree kidnapping, assault on a female and possession of a gun by a felon, among other offenses.
