A correctional officer in the state of North Carolina was recently murdered, just one month before his wedding. The father of two was shot and killed in front of his Charlotte, North Carolina home, and police are currently investigating whether or not the murder was somehow connected to his profession or incidences which may have occurred in the correctional facility where he is employed.
The slain officer, Bias Easley, worked at the Lanesboro Correctional Institute, which is located near Wadesboro. The murder, which occurred on Thursday June 5 in the hours before Easley and his father planned to watch the first game of the NBA finals together, left his family devastated.
Some family members believe that the murder may have been connected to an incident that occurred at a convenience store earlier in the week. Others believe that it was somehow connected to his job. Several days after the incident police still had not arrested a suspect or determined a motive for the murder.
Correctional officers face significant dangers in their careers both inside and outside of prisons to which they are assigned. Officers often find that they may become targets outside of the work place for incidents that began inside the jails and prisons in which they work. In such situations inmates will sometimes send associates to threaten the officers, or even assault them.
Recently, North Carolina inmates were able to smuggle a cell phone into the detention facility in which they were detained, and use it to orchestrate the kidnapping of the father of a prosecutor in the state. The father was eventually rescued relatively unharmed, but the incident was a reminder of how an incident originating inside a jail or prison can quickly turn into a dangerous situation on the outside.
Police are asking anyone with information related to the Easley murder to contact them immediately.