CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — Police identified the 40-year-old woman who they said was found dead near an old, abandoned farmhouse in Locust Friday.
Officials told Channel 9 that they found the body of Donna Marie Helms, who also went by the name Donna Perez, at the back of an abandoned home's driveway off Highway 200 in Locust.
Channel 9 spoke with the special agent-in-charge who said Helms died from multiple stab wounds.
Officials are working to determine if the body was dumped at the home or if this is the only crime scene.
Nearby, neighbors in the community said the police activity Friday was unusual for the area.
Investigators were dispatched Friday night to the property on N.C. Highway 200, just south of County Line Road after someone reportedly found the woman’s body.
Officials quickly ruled her death a homicide.
On Saturday, Channel 9 learned the case may be linked to an attempted suicide that happened in Concord after the woman’s body was discovered Friday.
Concord police confirmed they were dispatched to a shopping area on Concord Parkway around 10 p.m. Friday after a man reportedly shot himself.
Officials wouldn’t say how the cases were linked.
Officials said the man is hospitalized at Carolinas Medical Center.
The Locust Police Department is handling the homicide investigation with the help of State Bureau of Investigation. Other agencies are also thought to be assisting including the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office and Concord Police Department.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Locust police at 704-888-4744.
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