BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — Deputies in Burke County are offering a $2,000 reward for information in a double homicide after two men were found shot inside a burning mobile home last month.
The victims, Joseph Kincaid Byrd, 76, and Michael Curtis Hallyburton, 63, were discovered Aug. 31 in the home on Swink Street in the Antioch community.
“It sounded like a bomb going off,” said Peggy Austin, who lives down the road. “I thought someone hit the house with a car.”
Investigators are looking into the motive and the possibility that the fire may have been intentionally set.
Other neighbors, including Jerrill Townsend, aren’t taking any chances with no arrests in the case.
“I’ve got my guns,” Townsend said. “That’s all I need. I got him (points up) and I got my guns and the lord Jesus Christ looking after me.”
Deputies are not saying where the men were found on the property.
A woman, who asked not to be identified, said she knew Hallyburton since she was a child and can’t believe he was killed.
“It’s pretty bad,” she said. “It’s pretty hard around here. He was always out to help somebody if they needed help. He would really help them.”
Neighbors and family said Hallyburton was a carpenter and was most likely there helping Byrd with work on the property.
The sheriff’s office, along with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Marshals Office, United States Bureau of Alcohol Tabacco and Firearms, Virginia State Police, and the Hickory Police Department are assisting the Burke County Sheriff’s Office with the ongoing investigation.
No additional details have been made available.
This is a developing story. Check back with wsoctv.com and watch Eyewitness News for updates.
VIDEO: Burke County fire investigation now a double homicide
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