Overview
- The victims were identified as Ted Chavis, 52, and Joann Chavis, 48, who were found Monday shortly after 6 p.m. in their home on Cope Road in Hoke County.
- Deputies said the couple’s 17-year-old foster son stabbed them multiple times before fleeing in a vehicle linked to the homicide scene.
- Officers tracked the vehicle to the Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina in Lake Waccamaw, where the car was found unoccupied and buildings were methodically cleared with help from a drone team.
- When approached by law enforcement on the campus, the teen sustained an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, received medical aid, and later died at a hospital; no civilians or staff were harmed.
- The State Bureau of Investigation is leading the Columbus County probe into the suicide as agencies continue the double-homicide investigation, with the suspect unnamed due to age and no motive disclosed.