Robeson County, N.C. (WPDE) – A 29-year-old cold case has been solved with the arrest of 55-year-old Kenneth Delton Locklear, who is now charged with the first-degree murder of 45-year-old Margaret Lois Bell.
Bell was found murdered in her home on Tom M. Road in the Evans Crossroads community of Robeson County on December 3, 1996. Locklear, who was Bell’s son-in-law at the time of her death, was arrested last Friday after a long investigation by the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Investigation Unit.
Sheriff Burnis Wilkins confirmed the arrest, stating that the warrant for Locklear’s arrest charges him with the unlawful, willful, and felonious killing of Bell, with malice aforethought.
Locklear was living in the Rowland community at the time of his arrest. The cold case unit, formed shortly after Wilkins took office in May 2019, began investigating the unsolved murder. Through diligent follow-ups on old leads and the development of new ones, Locklear was eventually identified as a suspect, leading to his arrest.
The cold case team, consisting of retired law enforcement officers, has been instrumental in revisiting unsolved cases across the county. Locklear is currently in jail, and a bond hearing was held on Monday morning. Additional details from the hearing are still being sought.
Sheriff Wilkins also held a press conference on Monday, providing further updates and statements from Bell’s family. The community’s support and the tireless efforts of law enforcement have brought closure to a decades-old mystery.
