On September 30, 2023, 68-year-old Marshall Lee Williford Jr. of Edenton, North Carolina, was found deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the parking lot of the Chowan County Public Safety Center on West Freemason Street. Edenton Police Chief Henry King confirmed the death as a suicide.
Prior to his death, Williford had been arrested on September 22, 2023, by agents from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI). The arrest followed a request from the Windsor Police Department on May 15, 2023, to investigate an alleged rape that occurred several decades earlier. The investigation, which also involved the FBI's Greenville office, led to Williford being charged with four counts each of first-degree kidnapping and indecent liberties with a child, as well as one count each of second-degree rape and statutory sex offense. The alleged incidents took place between 1978 and 1988, involving multiple victims who were between the ages of five and 14 at the time. Williford was released on a $900,000 secured bond and had made his initial court appearance on September 29, 2023, in Bertie County Superior Court.
Williford was a prominent figure in his community, known for managing The Wash House Laundromat chain since 1973 and serving on the National Coin Laundry Association board of directors. He was also active in his church and community, remembered as an entrepreneur, leader, and family man. His death brought an abrupt end to the legal proceedings, with local District Attorney Kim Scott indicating that the charges against him would be abated due to his passing.
