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Police: 79-year-old woman murdered in Ashe Co. after giving suspect ride home

CRUMPLER, N.C. — Investigators in Ashe County are trying to determine the motive behind a weekend murder at an apartment in Crumpler.

Deputies said they responded to Nathan's Creek School Road around 12:30 a.m. Sunday after Jessie Hubbard, 59, called and said someone was breaking into his apartment.

[Man charged with murdering elderly Statesville man was there to rob him, deputies say]

When officers arrived, they found Diane Goss, 79, dead inside.

Investigators said they believe Goss had given Hubbard a ride home. Neighbors told Channel 9 he had asked for help miles away in Jefferson after his moped broke down.

Jessie Hubbard

Hubbard is now charged with murder.

Deputies are still trying to determine where Goss picked him up, but they described the murder as senseless.

Goss was well known in Ashe County for volunteering and helping others including the homeless.

"Most of us were talking today that nobody will be helping anybody anymore. It will really hurt more than anything,” resident Donna Howell said.

An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday. Hubbard is set to appear before a judge Thursday.

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