Sheriff: 2 accused of beating 73-year-old woman in Rowan County, lying about home invasion

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — After a woman reported that her boyfriend’s elderly mother was badly beaten by two home invaders Wednesday afternoon, the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office says investigators learned that the woman and a friend of hers were the suspected culprits behind the beating.

According to the sheriff’s office, deputies went to a home on Beagle Club Road after Carrie Elizabeth Dixon reported that she found her boyfriend’s 73-year-old mother with life-threatening injuries. Dixon told deputies that two white men went to the back door of the home, forced their way inside, and severely beat the victim while she was alone.

Investigators found another woman, later identified as Shirley Marie Burns, at the home with Dixon. RCSO says crime scene investigators compared the physical evidence with the story Dixon and Burns reported, and the investigators “became suspicious that the story was being fabricated.”

The victim was taken to Novant Health Rowan before being transferred to a hospital in Winston-Salem. According to the sheriff’s office, investigators learned from the victim between medical testing that Dixon and Burns were the two attackers.

RCSO says investigators questioned Dixon at the sheriff’s office, and she confessed to making up the story about the break-in. She told investigators the attack was planned because of alleged physical and emotional abuse in the past.

Dixon confessed that she and Burns used a broken piece of cinder block and a metal pipe to beat the victim for about five minutes. Dixon also told the victim to lie to first responders to prevent them from being charged, but the victim told the truth when she was alone with investigators, according to the sheriff’s office.

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Dixon was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon, obstruction of justice and delaying law enforcement. She was given a $250,000 bond.

Burns was found and arrested on Thursday in Salisbury, police said. She also received $250,000 bond.

Editor’s Note: The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office said in an update that Burns gave a false name when she was initially questioned, using her sister’s name. This article has been updated to reflect her real identity.

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