Communities celebrate arrest

By Jonathan Austin and Chyna Broadnax

When Union Grove neighbors heard Tuesday that an arrest had been made in connection with the gunshot slayings of two well-known couples, reactions were either subdued relief or explosing exultation.

"I just wanted to live long enough to know who was responsible for this tragedy and why," said Allen Styers, who lived next door to James and Delet Powell and thinks he heard a car drive away on the January night they were shot to death.

"In my heart, I have always felt like I heard the vehicle leave the house, and I reported that to the sheriff's office," he said.

Styers was stunned when he heard the news on Tuesday, rushing to read a news statement that had been released by the sheriff's office.

He said he also knew Dona nd Sue Barker, who were gunned down in the kitchen of their White's Farm Road home last September.

'A big relief'

Bill Hayes works at Barker's Grocery and considered the Barkers to be good friends.

He said the sheriff's office told him about the arrest on Tuesday afternoon.

"I lost my two best friends, and it's a big relief," he said.

hayes - who said he has long suspected that the killer was someone close to the family - said Evans came in the store just a few days ago.

"We always thought it was somebody" they knew, he said. "Otherwise they wouldn't have let them in the house."

Relatives confirmed Tuesday that they victimes knew the suspect.

Barker had owned the convenience store for 42 years. Friends say he was beloved throughout the community.

"It's something you think of every day," Hayes said. "Why would somebody kill a man who would give the shirt off his back?"

'Been on edge'

Harold and Marie Smith of Union Grove wre stunned with the news of the arrest, which they heard while eating dinner at the Sunshine Diner on N.C. 901, just a short distance from the Powells' home.

"We've all been on edge," Harold said.

His wife, who said she was a first cousin to Delet Powell, shook her head in agreement. "I'm relieved," she finally said.

The slayings, which rocked rural Iredell County like few crimes before, forced long-time residents to question how the killer of ofur retirement-aged people could live in their midst.

"We lock the doors now," Harold Smith said. "We didn't used to lock the doors."

What so many people said they couldn't understand is the fact that a 65-year-old woman had been arrested.

"She a little old to be gun-slinging," Harold Smith said.

At Barker's Grocery, Hayes felt the same: "It's hard to believe a woman could do this by herself."

'Blows her mind'

Don Barker's nephew, Frank Moore, said the Barkers had been cautious after he had been robbed and shot before. But "taking extra precaution apparently wasn't good enough," Moore said.

Robert Taylor said he worked with Don Barker for 30 years and said the day he heard of hte murders is one he will always play back in his mind.

"It was the longest day I had ever lived," he said. "It's been real tough."

Employees at Barker's Grocery now carry handguns for protection, and Taylor said he had been skeptical about the killings since Day 1.

"I suspected about 100 people, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. You wouldn't have thought (Evans) could do this," he said.

"It just blows my mind, and if she did do this I hope she rots in hell."

'It brings tears'

Mike Keller, who operates Union Grove Milling Co. with his mother, said James Powell "was just as good a friend as you could want. He would do anything for you."

Keller was also pleased that an arrest had been made.

"The community will be a whole lot relieved - if that's the right person," he said. "If it's the right one, she needs to get what she deserves."

Steve Wooten said he grew up near the Powells. After their deaths, he took in their dog, Kipper.

He said Delet Powell "was like a second mother to our son," often walking over the baby-sit.

"We knew James all his life," Wooten said.

And now?

"It brings tears."