ORANGE COUNTY, N.C. — Orange County investigators detained a 17-year-old suspect in connection with the murders of 18-year-old Devin Clark and 14-year-old Lyric Woods on Wednesday.
The families of the victims have been waiting for answers for weeks. Now, some relief, but the case is far from over.
Devin Clark's mom speaks
“It was a hard push for me to wait for this day,” Clark’s mother Tiffany Concepcion said. “We got a little piece of justice done…It’s a little bit of closure but it’s not a lot, because we have a lot more we have to solve in this case.”
Concepcion’s son was found dead alongside 14-year-old Woods in an Orange County field in September. They had been missing for more than a day when they were found shot and killed.
“I would’ve never thought in my time I would be burying my child,” Concepcion said.
Clark was a senior at Eastern Alamance High School where he played football. He had dreams of playing in college.
“He never hurt nobody. He was always kind, friendly, loves people, met everybody and became a friend for everybody,” Clark’s mother said.
Woods was a freshman at Cedar Ridge High School in the Triangle.
“I didn’t know Lyric, but I know of her now since this happened. She seemed like she was a really good girl. She played volleyball and she had to be a wonderful girl for her to be Devin’s friend,” Concepcion said.
Acting district attorney shares more
Investigators were searching for a 17-year-old suspect for weeks before taking someone into custody.
“I’m happy for our community to know that there is a suspect in custody,” Acting District Attorney for Orange County Jeff Nieman said.
Nieman said the suspect is a juvenile, and very little information can be shared about offenders under 18 years old. He declined to comment on whether his office will pursue trying the suspect as an adult.
“It’s public that this is a 17-year-old suspect. It is legally possible to transfer this case to adult court. That would be possible through the process of the case being sent to the grand jury similar to what we do with regular adult cases,” Nieman said.
The next step will be a detention hearing, where a judge will determine whether this suspect will be released from custody while awaiting trial.
Sheriff Charles Blackwood said, “We hope this apprehension provides some relief to the families and friends of Devin and Lyric, who have experienced an excruciating loss. Obviously, the capture of the suspect does not restore their loved one to them. The grieving process is a long one, and we hope the community will continue to support them in their pain.”
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