Kayla Rose Bessette faces charges in Mecklenburg County and a separate murder warrant in Lincoln County.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A woman accused of strangling and robbing a 79-year-old man in Charlotte later became the subject of separate first-degree murder and robbery warrants in Lincoln County, authorities said.
The Mecklenburg County case began May 30 with a robbery call at a Murdock Road apartment. Police said Kayla Rose Bessette, 36, had followed the victim home from a Food Lion, forced her way inside and strangled him while taking money from his pockets. Days later, Lincolnton police announced warrants accusing Bessette in the death of 70-year-old Tony Maddox. The two cases are separate, but together they created a broader legal picture involving two older victims, two counties and charges that include attempted murder and first-degree murder.
In Charlotte, the victim told police the encounter began after a routine stop at the Food Lion at 3009 The Plaza. According to a probable cause affidavit, a woman approached him while he was walking home and asked for money. She then followed him to his apartment in the 1400 block of Murdock Road. The affidavit said the man tried to close his front door, but the woman forced her way in. Police later identified her as Bessette. The account gives no sign that the victim invited her inside or that the two had arranged to meet.
The affidavit said the attack moved quickly once Bessette entered the apartment. The victim accused her of pushing him onto his bed, climbing on top of him and strangling him. Police said she then reached into his pockets, took all of his money and left. Officers who responded to the robbery call documented the victim’s account and began looking for the woman described in the report. Later coverage of the case said the man suffered serious injuries. Police did not release his name in the initial public accounts, and the affidavit did not include a full medical report.
Investigators said they found Bessette at a bus stop near the same grocery store from which the victim had walked. Officers reported seeing blood on her hands. They also reviewed surveillance video from the Food Lion and said the video helped confirm her identity. After Bessette was arrested and read her Miranda rights, police said she admitted breaking into the home and trying to kill the victim while stealing his money. Detectives wrote that she did not deny an intent to kill and smiled when questioned about that intent. Police said she also stated more than once that the victim “deserved it.”
The charges filed in the Charlotte case were attempted murder, breaking and entering, robbery and assault by strangulation. Those charges cover alleged conduct at different stages of the episode: the entry, the assault, the taking of money and the claimed intent behind the strangling. North Carolina law includes a felony offense for assault that causes physical injury by strangulation. The attempted murder count is separate and turns on proof of intent. At the early affidavit stage, the court record presents police claims, not a final finding of guilt.
The later Lincoln County case added a more serious accusation. Tony Maddox was last seen May 26 and was reported missing May 27. Searchers found his body June 2 in a wooded area in Lincolnton. Police there later announced warrants charging Bessette with first-degree murder and common law robbery in Maddox’s death. Reports said Maddox’s black Dodge Charger was found abandoned in south Charlotte after he disappeared. Authorities have not released a detailed cause of death, a full timeline of Maddox’s final hours or the evidence they say connects Bessette to the killing.
The timing of the two cases has become a central point. Maddox was last seen four days before the Charlotte attack. Bessette was arrested May 30 in the Charlotte case and remained in Mecklenburg County custody when Lincolnton police announced the murder warrants. That means investigators in Lincoln County did not have to search for her after naming her in Maddox’s death, but it also means the public record now tracks two case files moving from different starting points. One began with a surviving victim’s statement in Charlotte. The other began as a missing-person search in Lincolnton.
Community reaction has been strongest in Lincolnton, where Maddox was described in local reports as a familiar and kind presence. A gym manager said Maddox sometimes brought flowers that would otherwise be thrown away, knowing she liked them. A vase was placed at the gym so people could leave notes and memories. Those details do not change the evidence in either case, but they show why the murder charge drew attention beyond the court docket. In Charlotte, the victim’s identity was kept out of the initial reports, leaving the public account focused on the attack and the police affidavit.
Procedurally, the cases may move on different tracks. Mecklenburg County prosecutors are responsible for the Charlotte charges tied to the Food Lion, the Murdock Road apartment and the bus stop arrest. Lincoln County authorities are responsible for the murder and robbery warrants tied to Maddox. Court schedules, bond decisions, discovery and any future indictments would be handled through the county where each case is filed. Public reports do not show that either case had reached a final judgment as of July 6. Bessette has not been reported as convicted in either matter.
The overlapping timeline leaves several unanswered questions for investigators and prosecutors. In Charlotte, the motive for the attack remains unclear, as does the amount of money allegedly stolen. In Lincolnton, officials have not released the evidence behind the murder warrant, the cause of death or the exact link between Maddox’s disappearance and Charlotte. What is public is the sequence: Maddox was last seen May 26, the Charlotte victim was attacked May 30, Maddox was found dead June 2, and Lincolnton police announced the new warrants June 5.
The Charlotte case remained an attempted murder prosecution based on a home invasion allegation, while the Lincolnton case remained a separate murder prosecution. The next clear developments are expected through court records in Mecklenburg and Lincoln counties.
Author note: Last updated July 6, 2026.