MAIDEN, N.C. — A man has been arrested after a woman was found dead in a home in Maiden Saturday night, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. Channel 9 learned the suspect was out on bond for an attempted murder charge.
Just before 9 p.m. Saturday, deputies responded to a home on Ginger Lane after receiving reports of a cardiac arrest.
Family members told deputies that 63-year-old Lesa Armstrong Rose was found on the floor of a bathroom inside the home. She had “wounds not consistent with a natural death,” according to Lincoln County EMS.
An investigation identified 36-year-old Michael Steven Ricker as a suspect in this case. He also lived at the home where the incident took place, according to deputies.
On Sunday, Ricker was taken into custody by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. He was in a shed behind the house. Authorities charged him with first-degree murder.
Ricker was previously arrested in June after a man was shot twice in the Sherrills Ford area of Catawba County. He was charged with attempted murder, shooting into an occupied dwelling, and possession of a firearm by felon in connection with that case.
Channel 9′s Dave Faherty learned Ricker was released on a $25,000 bond in that case -- just 12 days after his arrest.
The victim in the June shooting is the father of Ricker’s girlfriend, according to deputies. The victim in the Saturday shooting was her mother, Faherty learned.
‘Wonderful grandparent to my kid’
Greg Dorame was returning home from a movie with his child -- Rose’s granddaughter -- when he found Rose dead in the bathroom.
“She was a wonderful grandparent to my kid,” he said. “She did everything. She did everything, basically raising my kid.”
Family members said two weeks ago, someone set Rose’s car on fire in front of her home. They suspected Ricker was involved, but no one was charged in the case.
Steven Spencer lives across the street from Rose and had taken her to the store hours before her death. He said she feared Ricker.
“He’s a lowlife. A serious lowlife,” Spencer said. “If I could have gotten my hands on him, it would have never happened -- if I had known it was going to happen or had an idea he was even down there, I would have kept her up here with me.”
Ricker is being held at the Lincoln County jail without bond. He is expected to appear in court on Monday, according to deputies.
Faherty asked Lincoln County deputies about Rose’s cause of death. They said they are still waiting for an autopsy, but Rose’s family said they could clearly see injuries to her head.
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