Gregory Adonis Giles Rutherford, a 34-year-old male from Morganton, North Carolina, died on May 31, 2025; public reports do not specify his race or ethnicity. He was born in Burke County on May 12, 1991, and was remembered by family and friends for his outgoing, helpful nature and knack for fixing things. His death came suddenly, leaving a tight-knit community to grieve a son, brother, and father.
Late that Saturday afternoon, around 5:45 p.m., deputies responded to gunfire along Kathy Road near the entrance to Belle Farm. Multiple weapons were reportedly involved and the scene stretched across a long span of roadway. One victim was rushed by private vehicle to UNC Health Blue Ridge, where he was pronounced dead and identified as Gregory Adonis Giles Rutherford, 34. Two others were hurt: 53-year-old Jerry Jerome Benjamin, who was hospitalized in stable condition, and 24-year-old Jonathan Michael Benjamin, who sustained non-life-threatening injuries and declined treatment.
In the days that followed, investigators with the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, working with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Marshals, obtained arrest warrants connected to the Kathy Road shooting. Authorities announced the arrests of 37-year-old Nathaniel James Tate and 53-year-old Jerry Jerome Benjamin. Tate was charged with attempted first-degree murder; Benjamin was charged with discharging a firearm into occupied property. Both were taken into custody without bond after first appearances, and a juvenile was also charged with attempted murder and detained.
Officials set the next court date for the adult defendants for June 27, 2025, as the case continued to develop. The arrests underscored law enforcement’s view that the gunfire involved individuals in vehicles exchanging shots along the corridor, a chaotic confrontation that left one man dead and two others wounded before investigators began to piece together what happened.
As family prepared to lay Gregory Adonis Giles Rutherford to rest, obituary notices from a local funeral home and memorial listings echoed the shock felt by those who knew him best. The tributes emphasized his warmth and the depth of the loss to his daughter, siblings, and extended family—reminders that behind the case files and court dates stands the life of a 34-year-old taken in a burst of roadside violence.
