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Homicide suspect jailed
By KERRI L. McFALLS
The News Herald
Monday, May 10, 2004
MORGANTON ‑ Investigators hope finger prints or dental records will help positively identify the woman found dead on the back porch of an apartment on West Union Street on Saturday evening.
Morganton Department of Public Safety Capt. Scott Kerley said the victim, who had no form of identification on her, had been deceased for several days.
Christopher Robert Lambert, 35, who lives in the apartment where the body was found, was charged with second-degree murder on Monday, Kerley said.
Martin Raymunedo-Mendoza, a neighbor of Lambert's, said when he walked by the apartment Friday evening he detected something strange.
"I could smell something," Raymunedo-Mendoza said. "It was very bad. When I came back after 10 (p.m.) I could still smell it."
Raymunedo-Mendoza said he thought an animal died near the apartment building. He did not know the victim or the suspect.
Officers found the woman's body wrapped in blankets and dark-colored plastic bags, Kerley said.
"She had multiple stab wounds according to the preliminary autopsy report," Kerley said. "But to say that was the cause of death, I can't say that right now because we don't have the full medical examiner's report back yet."
On Monday, Lambert, who made a first appearance in District Court, used a sign language translator to communicate with the judge and to request a court-appointed attorney.
Kerley said Lambert, using a relay phone system for the hearing impaired, called 911 around 5 p.m. on Saturday saying that he thought he had killed someone and needed help.
"According to the officer who arrived on the scene, they were met at the door by him (Lambert)," Kerley said. The officers reported that when Lambert came to the door he stuck both arms out in front of him as a signal to be handcuffed.
Hollie Paden, who also lives in the apartment complex, said that Lambert only had been living in the building for a few months, and she had little contact with him.
"The only time I've really talked to him was when he came down here and asked for a cigarette," Paden said.
Lambert is being held at the Burke-Catawba District Confinement Facility under a $100,000 bond.
Kerri L. McFalls can be reached at (828) 437-2161, Ext. 26, or by e-mail at kmcfalls@morganton.com
© 2004, Media General Inc. All Rights Reserved
Homicide suspect jailed
By KERRI L. McFALLS
The News Herald
Monday, May 10, 2004
MORGANTON ‑ Investigators hope finger prints or dental records will help positively identify the woman found dead on the back porch of an apartment on West Union Street on Saturday evening.
Morganton Department of Public Safety Capt. Scott Kerley said the victim, who had no form of identification on her, had been deceased for several days.
Christopher Robert Lambert, 35, who lives in the apartment where the body was found, was charged with second-degree murder on Monday, Kerley said.
Martin Raymunedo-Mendoza, a neighbor of Lambert's, said when he walked by the apartment Friday evening he detected something strange.
"I could smell something," Raymunedo-Mendoza said. "It was very bad. When I came back after 10 (p.m.) I could still smell it."
Raymunedo-Mendoza said he thought an animal died near the apartment building. He did not know the victim or the suspect.
Officers found the woman's body wrapped in blankets and dark-colored plastic bags, Kerley said.
"She had multiple stab wounds according to the preliminary autopsy report," Kerley said. "But to say that was the cause of death, I can't say that right now because we don't have the full medical examiner's report back yet."
On Monday, Lambert, who made a first appearance in District Court, used a sign language translator to communicate with the judge and to request a court-appointed attorney.
Kerley said Lambert, using a relay phone system for the hearing impaired, called 911 around 5 p.m. on Saturday saying that he thought he had killed someone and needed help.
"According to the officer who arrived on the scene, they were met at the door by him (Lambert)," Kerley said. The officers reported that when Lambert came to the door he stuck both arms out in front of him as a signal to be handcuffed.
Hollie Paden, who also lives in the apartment complex, said that Lambert only had been living in the building for a few months, and she had little contact with him.
"The only time I've really talked to him was when he came down here and asked for a cigarette," Paden said.
Lambert is being held at the Burke-Catawba District Confinement Facility under a $100,000 bond.
Kerri L. McFalls can be reached at (828) 437-2161, Ext. 26, or by e-mail at kmcfalls@morganton.com
© 2004, Media General Inc. All Rights Reserved
