Emden Lee Syres Jr, a 47-year-old man who worked in the Technology Department of American Airlines in Charlotte, was found dead at his Newton, North Carolina, residence on May 29, 2019. Deputies from the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office conducted a welfare check after Syres failed to show up for work for two days and entered through an open back door. They discovered him lying on the floor with a gunshot wound to the head. The Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center autopsy concluded his death was due to a lethal gunshot wound to the head and noted two additional gunshot wounds to the right shoulder/neck area and the right hand.

Investigators report that the killing followed a verbal altercation on May 27, 2019, and that the suspect left the scene with Syres’ vehicle and wallet and used his credit cards. The suspect was detained the next day and, according to police, made incriminating comments and later admitted the shooting during an interview with investigators on May 31, 2019. Anyone with information about Syres or his last days is asked to come forward.