Erica Victoria McNeill, a 42-year-old Black woman from Lillington, North Carolina, was found shot to death on the evening of October 23, 2025. Deputies with the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a home on Amrie Lane after a 6:07 p.m. 911 call, and discovered McNeill in a vehicle with a fatal gunshot wound. Her death was recorded that day in Lillington, and local notices later confirmed her age and identity.
According to investigators, the initial report to 911 came from McNeill’s former boyfriend, Rodney Jermaine Pipkin, who told dispatchers she had shot herself. Detectives quickly determined the injury was not self-inflicted after assessing the scene and statements, shifting the case from a possible suicide to a homicide investigation.
Pipkin, 42, of Lillington, was arrested the same day and charged with second-degree murder in McNeill’s killing. He was booked into the Harnett County Detention Center and held without bond as the investigation continued. Advocacy and memorial listings later noted McNeill’s death and identified Pipkin as the alleged perpetrator and ex-partner.
In the days that followed, funeral and memorial postings from the area affirmed McNeill’s name, age, and the date of her death, while regional news outlets detailed the rapid turn in the case from a reported self-harm call to a homicide arrest. As of those reports, authorities had not released additional information about a motive or further suspects.
