3 arrested in shooting that killed woman, child in Shelby

SHELBY, N.C. — Three people were arrested Friday in connection with the killing of a woman and a child in Shelby on Thursday morning.

Mario Wilson, Morris Abraham and Aubre Sucato were arrested and charged with murder.

Officials identified the child as 3-year-old Liam Murray.

(Liam)

Relatives said Liam and his mother were inside the home along with Miranda Woods when police said a robbery went bad.

Police said around 7 a.m. someone inside the house on Whisnant Street opened fire, killing Liam and Woods, while wounding a man identified as Jerod Shippy.

Liam's grandmother said Sucato was best friends with Liam's mother and the two once lived together when the child was born.

“That hurts me worst,” the grandmother, Sunshine Murray, said Friday night.

“Oh my God, it kills me. I want to hurt them because it was her best friend. It was her best friend that let these people into her house.”

Sunshine Murray said one of the two male suspects, Abraham and Wilson, was Sucato's
boyfriend.

The family said that Woods was staying the night before the deadly shooting and that Liam's mother told them she was asleep, but woke up to the sound of gunshots.

"A 3-year-old child? I mean, who is heartless enough to do that?" asked Tyler
Beason, the child's stepfather.

Detectives spent Thursday morning going door-to-door throughout the neighborhood asking for information.

The police chief said people are volunteering information in a way police have not seen in the past, and told Channel 9 that he thinks the death of such a young child has angered people.

Authorities said Shippy was taken to the hospital. Relatives said he was Woods' boyfriend and he underwent surgery.

All three suspects were charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder, attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon.

"We are going to figure this out," Shelby Police Chief Jeff Ledford said Thursday. “Loss of life is sad. Loss of life of a child is senseless."

The investigation is ongoing.

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