Dillion Zayne Wirt was a 23-year-old White man from Asheboro, North Carolina, remembered for his kindness, warmth, and innocence. A 2017 graduate of Southwestern Randolph High School, he was a welder who also enjoyed woodworking and outdoor activities. Friends and family described him as an outgoing Christian who was selfless, motivated, and deeply loved by those who knew him.
In the early morning hours of February 7, 2021, Asheboro police responded to a call about a shooting.
The investigation led them to a home on the 600 block of Farr Street, where evidence suggested a violent crime had occurred. Police determined that Dillion had been shot and killed at the residence sometime before 2:15 a.m., but his body was not at the scene.
Based on witness interviews and evidence, authorities began searching for Dillion’s body at the former Glendon Pyrophyllite Rock Quarry, a privately owned site partially filled with water in neighboring Moore County. That same evening, around 7 p.m., Virginia State Police arrested two suspects at a gas station in Virginia. The individuals were identified as Branson Raye Lambert, 21, and Jessica Lynn Loflin, 36, both from Asheboro. The following evening, on February 8, divers recovered Dillion’s body from the quarry. An autopsy later confirmed he had died from a gunshot wound.
Branson Raye Lambert was charged with murder, and Jessica Lynn Loflin was charged with accessory after the fact. According to arrest warrants, Loflin was accused of helping Lambert remove Dillion’s body from the Farr Street house and dispose of it. Both were held at the New River Valley Jail in Virginia before being extradited to North Carolina to face the charges.
Prosecutors revealed that the motive for the killing was Lambert's paranoia that Dillion was going to report him to police for an armed robbery he had committed the day before. The gun used in the robbery was found to be the same weapon used to kill Dillion.
Branson Raye Lambert was tried in Randolph County, where a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder. Following the conviction, the jury unanimously recommended a death sentence. A judge accepted the recommendation and formally sentenced Lambert to death for the murder of Dillion Wirt. As of April 2026, Lambert was in custody awaiting transfer to a state penitentiary in Raleigh to be on death row.
