Teens’ families fill Orange County courtroom for murder suspect’s brief hearing

A 17-year-old defendant will remain in a secure, juvenile facility and return to court next month on charges that he murdered two local teenagers in September.

Issiah Ross, of Mebane, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the Sept. 18 deaths of 14-year-old Lyric Woods and 18-year-old Devin Clark in western Orange County. He appeared briefly in court in Hillsborough Tuesday morning, where his case was continued to Dec. 13 to hear motions from his attorney.

Clark’s and Woods’ families and supporters filled nearly four rows on one side of the courtroom. The suspect’s family and supporters sat in two rows on the opposite side. Orange County sheriff’s deputies were posted along the side and back wall to keep order.

Assistant District Attorney Jeff Nieman said the crowd gathered for Tuesday’s hearing speaks to “the importance to both the families involved and the greater community of this case, and we understand why it’s important.”

Ross has been held since his October arrest in a secure, juvenile detention facility because of his age and could face life in prison if convicted. Suspects under 18 cannot get the death penalty in North Carolina.

Tuesday’s hearing allowed Ross’s attorney, Jonathan Trapp, to make an official appearance in court and to schedule a hearing on two motions before the court, Nieman told media in a brief interview after the hearing.

The first motion that Trapp has filed will ask the judge to consider setting a bail bond for Ross. The second is asking for unidentified property seized as part of the investigation to be returned.

Bodies found along ATV trail

Woods and Clark were found by two men riding four-wheelers around 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18, along an ATV trail just off Buckhorn Road, south of Efland.

Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood has said 911 calls from nearby residents indicate the teens were shot between late Friday night, Sept. 16, and early morning on Saturday, Sept. 17.

Woods’s family reported her missing later on Saturday. She was last seen at home around 11 p.m. Friday. Clark’s family reported him missing to Mebane police on Sunday morning, just a few hours before the bodies were found.

Blackwood has said Ross fled later Sunday to Delaware, where he previously lived. An FBI violent crimes task force, working with N.C. officials, apprehended him on Oct. 5 at the Leander Lakes apartments in Dover, Delaware.

Two women — Nakaysha Ross, 22, of Middletown, Delaware, and McKenzie Mitchell, 21, of Dover, Delaware — have been charged with felony hindering prosecution, FBI officials have said.

Authorities have not said how the women knew Issiah Ross or what led investigators to them.

Local connection, motive unclear

Woods was an Orange County resident who attended Cedar Ridge High School. Clark lived in Alamance County and attended Eastern Alamance High School, where Ross also was enrolled for six days at the start of this school year, district officials have said.

An online search showed both Clark and Ross had SoundCloud online music forum pages, where they posted their own songs and songs by others they admired. Clark’s Soundcloud page showed he followed Ross’s page; Ross’s Soundcloud page showed he had not followed him back.

Ross was initially charged as a juvenile, as required by state law, but a grand jury indictment in early November moved his case to adult Superior Court. That change in how his case is being handled allowed authorities to release his name and other details about the case.

Orange County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Alicia Stemper said at a news conference last week that the motive for the murders may never be clear. Few details have been released in order to not jeopardize the case against Ross, she said.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever know (the motive) in this case,” Stemper said.

The Orange Report

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