Kent Stewart Sessoms, a 65-year-old man from Ahoskie, North Carolina, tragically lost his life on November 23, 2019. Sessoms, who was born on June 20, 1954, was a native of Hertford County. He was the son of Morton Herman Sessoms and Doris Perry Sessoms. On the day of his death, Sessoms was found lying in a yard suffering from a gunshot wound. He was initially transported to Vidant Roanoke-Chowan Hospital in Ahoskie and then to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, where he later succumbed to
his injuries. The incident also involved a female victim, Beryl Sessoms James, who sustained minor injuries from a gunshot wound.
The investigation revealed that the suspect in this case was 72-year-old Reginald Dwight James, who was Beryl Sessoms James' ex-husband and Kent Stewart Sessoms' ex-brother-in-law. The motive behind the shooting was identified as a family dispute over property. According to Hertford County Sheriff Dexter Hayes, the disagreement escalated to the point where Reginald Dwight James shot Kent Stewart Sessoms. After shooting Sessoms, James proceeded to enter Beryl Sessoms James' residence and attacked her. She managed to flee on foot and was shot while running down the road. The suspect was later found hiding in the woods near his residence and was taken into custody without incident.
Reginald Dwight James faced multiple charges, including one count of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree attempted murder. Additional charges included discharging a weapon into occupied property causing serious bodily injury, breaking and/or entering, injury to personal property, assault by pointing a gun, and going armed to the terror of people. James was held in the Hertford County Detention Center without bond. The case highlighted the tragic consequences of family disputes and the impact on the community, as noted by Sheriff Hayes, who expressed his condolences to the families involved.
