Henry Lee Downing Jr., a 49-year-old Black man, was killed during the early morning hours of September 26, 2023, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. At approximately 12:28 a.m., Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office deputies were sent to the 2200 block of Ladyslipper Drive after a 911 caller reported that someone had been shot. When deputies arrived, they found Downing suffering from a gunshot wound.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, and authorities later notified his family of his death.
The investigation quickly developed beyond the immediate crime scene. The following day, investigators announced that they were trying to locate two Fayetteville women, 40-year-old Sara Ruth Duncan and 40-year-old Elizabeth Louise Bartlett, for questioning in connection with Downing’s killing. Authorities described the women as people they wanted to speak with as part of the homicide investigation; available reports did not state that either woman had been charged with participating in the shooting. Investigators continued asking anyone who knew their whereabouts or had information about what happened on Ladyslipper Drive to contact the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
Within two days of the killing, investigators identified Thomas Jermaine Blake as the man accused of murdering Downing. On September 28, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office announced that it had obtained a warrant charging Blake with first-degree murder. Blake was already being held in Georgetown County, South Carolina, when the North Carolina murder warrant was announced. Authorities said he was in custody at the Georgetown County Detention Center and was wanted in connection with Downing’s fatal shooting.
Blake’s detention in South Carolina stemmed from a separate criminal investigation. Georgetown County deputies had arrested him on September 27 after accusing him of committing an armed robbery at a Piggly Wiggly grocery store in Andrews, South Carolina. Investigators alleged that Blake approached the store while the manager was opening the business, produced a handgun, forced the manager to open the safe and place money into a backpack, and ordered the manager and other employees not to move while he escaped on a bicycle. He faced armed robbery, kidnapping and weapons-related charges in that case.
The South Carolina case eventually resulted in a conviction and substantial prison sentence. In May 2024, Blake pleaded guilty to armed robbery in Georgetown County and was sentenced to 18 years in prison, with authorities stating that he would have to serve at least 85 percent of the sentence before becoming eligible for release. That conviction involved the grocery-store robbery and was separate from the first-degree murder accusation arising from Downing’s death in North Carolina.
Publicly available reports establish that Blake was charged by warrant with first-degree murder in connection with Downing’s killing, but the online sources located do not document a North Carolina trial, guilty plea, dismissal, or murder conviction resolving that charge. The available reporting therefore leaves the ultimate disposition of the homicide prosecution unclear. What is documented is that Downing was fatally shot on Ladyslipper Drive, two women were initially sought for questioning, and investigators subsequently identified Blake as the accused killer while he was already being held in South Carolina on unrelated charges.
