In a major breakthrough nearly eight years in the making, the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office has officially charged Demetrius Deshawn Hairston, 34, in the 2016 murder of 23-year-old Cornelius Montrell Clark from Reidsville, North Carolina.
On the early morning of November 20, 2016, Clark was discovered dead from a gunshot wound inside a van off N.C. Hwy. 14 and Harrington Highway in Eden. Deputies, who had responded to a vehicle accident, found the silver van in a wooded area. It was quickly determined that Clark had died from a gunshot wound, and the search for answers began.
For nearly eight years, investigators with the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office, Eden Police Department, and the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) worked tirelessly to solve the case. In late 2024, new technological advancements in forensic evidence provided crucial leads, linking Hairston to the murder. Despite Hairston already being incarcerated at the North Carolina Bureau of Prisons for unrelated crimes, the new evidence led to him being formally charged with First-Degree Murder.
Hairston was transported back to Rockingham County from his current prison location, where he was served with the charges and remanded back into custody while awaiting trial.
Along with the first-degree murder charge, Hairston has been charged with Shooting into Occupied Property, related to a separate incident on the same night of Clark’s death. On November 20, 2016, gunfire struck a vehicle at the intersection of Ellette Ave and Oakland Ave in Eden, though no one in the vehicle was injured.
Mandre Daquan Graves, 34, also faces charges connected to the shooting incident. Graves is currently incarcerated in Virginia, and authorities are awaiting his extradition to North Carolina.
As investigators continued to examine the case, they uncovered links between Clark’s homicide and a Breaking and Entering that took place in Ruffin, NC, on November 19, 2016—just one day prior to Clark’s death. Timmy Anthony Williamson II, 29, was arrested in Anderson, SC, in late December 2024, in connection with the break-in at a residence on Mt Carmel Church Road. He has since been extradited to Rockingham County and is currently incarcerated under a $9,000 secured bond.
Sheriff Sam Page praised the collective efforts of all the law enforcement agencies involved. “I want to thank my deputies and investigators, the Eden Police Department, the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, and the Rockingham County District Attorney’s Office for all of their hard work throughout this investigation,” said Page. “We have followed all leads on this case over the years as they became available, and we knew it was only a matter of time before it would all come together. Though we cannot bring Mr. Clark back, we can help to give his family closure and justice.”
As the investigation continues, authorities believe that the shooting, the break-in, and Clark’s homicide are all interconnected. With the charges now filed, the Rockingham County community eagerly anticipates the resolution of this long-unsolved case, hoping to bring justice to Clark and his grieving loved ones.
The Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office is calling on anyone with further information about the case to come forward. Investigators are determined to continue their efforts to seek justice and closure for this tragic event.
