Inset left: Dominic Connelly (Craven County Sheriff's Office). Inset right: Patricia Lopedote (Craven County Sheriff's Office). Background: The Bojangles restaurant in Vanceboro, North Carolina (Google Maps).
A man is accused of killing his grandmother in North Carolina, setting her home on fire, and then stabbing a deputy trying to detain him — and he's still at large, authorities say.
Dominic Connelly, 24, is wanted for murder and first-degree arson in the death of his grandmother, 72-year-old Patricia Lopedote, as well as attempted first-degree murder, felony assault on law enforcement, and larceny of a motor vehicle.
Law enforcement got involved in the case on Saturday when a home at 2010 North Carolina-101 Highway in Havelock, a city along the Neuse River some 135 miles southeast of Raleigh, was found on fire, the Craven County Sheriff's Office announced. As authorities responded, Lopedote's body was found inside. It remains unclear how she died.
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Her vehicle was not at the residence and was considered missing — until it was seen unoccupied in a parking lot on Pine Tree Drive in New Bern, about a 19-mile drive northwest.
By Wednesday, Connelly was developed as a suspect. And then the case took another turn.
Someone reported to authorities that they believed Connelly was at a Bojangles restaurant in Vanceboro, roughly a 21-mile drive further north, still in the Tar Heel State. Deputies responded, finding Connelly in the bathroom of the establishment. But he apparently did not intend to be detained, as he "used a knife to assault a deputy" and then ran away, the sheriff's office said.
Several law enforcement agencies are using drones, K-9s, and more in their search for Connelly, who was last seen wearing dark clothing running toward Bailey Lane apartments behind Bojangles.
Local authorities are asking the public to alert them if they see anything but not approach the suspect. Several local schools were closed for all students and staff on Thursday due to the "emergency situation."
Craven County — of which Havelock, New Bern, and Vanceboro are all a part — is located in eastern North Carolina, largely within an hour of the coast.
