Jacob Alexander Ray, a 21-year-old male from Hendersonville, North Carolina, was a junior studying computer information science at Western Carolina University. On the night of October 6, 2017, Ray was shot near Tuck’s Tap & Grille in Cullowhee, North Carolina. The incident occurred just before midnight, and law enforcement initially responded to a call about what was believed to be a car wreck. Upon arrival, they discovered Ray with a gunshot wound to the back of his head.
He was immediately taken to Mission Hospital in Asheville, where he was placed on life support. Unfortunately, Ray succumbed to his injuries and was removed from life support on October 9, 2017.
The investigation into Ray's death revealed that he was in the company of Aja Makalo, a 19-year-old female student at Western Carolina University, and Zavion Southerland, a 17-year-old male from Charlotte, North Carolina, at the time of the shooting. Both Makalo and Southerland were arrested and initially charged with attempted murder. However, following Ray's death, the charges were upgraded to first-degree murder. Court records indicate that Ray and Makalo were riding in the same car before the shooting, suggesting that they knew each other beforehand. Witnesses provided a vehicle description and partial registration plate number, which helped law enforcement identify Makalo as the vehicle's owner. Makalo fled the scene when officers arrived, and she was later found with what appeared to be blood on her shoes.
In the days following the shooting, police executed a total of ten search warrants in Cullowhee and Charlotte. They searched Ray's dorm room, phone, and car, as well as Makalo's apartment, phone, computer, car, and home in Charlotte. The searches also gave law enforcement access to cell phone communications between Makalo and Southerland, and between Ray and Makalo. Court documents indicate that drugs may have been a factor in the shooting, as Ray had been involved with the sale of controlled substances in the past. The investigation remains ongoing, with police still searching for a motive and possibly additional suspects. Despite the presence of witnesses at the crime scene, law enforcement is still trying to determine the exact location of the shooting.
