Seven Springs woman killed, man then turns gun on himself
By Jack Stephens
Published in News on July 19, 2004 2:08 PM
LaGRANGE -- A young Seven Springs woman was murdered Sunday by her former boyfriend who then turned the weapon on himself in a moving car, Lenoir County authorities said today.
Debra Howell Best, 19, of 3523 N.C. 111 South, Seven Springs, was fatally shot with a shotgun at about 9 p.m., Lenoir Sheriff's Capt. Mike Hatcher said. She was a front-seat passenger in a car driven by her cousin, Susan Smith.
The ex-boyfriend, Jamie Israel Faulkner, 31, of 1314 Loftus Lane, LaGrange, then turned the weapon on himself. He was sitting next to Ms. Best's infant in the back seat. He was not the child's father, Hatcher said.
The shootings occurred on Roy Sutton Road near Kennedy Home.
Hatcher said Faulkner had wanted to get back together with Ms. Best. They had no history of domestic violence, he added.