Woman sentenced to nearly 40 years for murder at Independence Mall

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A Wilmington woman will spend the next nearly 40 years in prison for killing another woman at Independence Mall last spring.

Traneta Campbell, 20, pleaded guilty Friday in New Hanover County Superior Court to the murder of 24-year-old Catherine “Cat” Ruth Ballard on April 1, 2017, in the parking lot of Independence Mall.

Campbell fired five shots at Ballard while Ballard was standing in the parking lot outside of Ruby Tuesday. It was 1:22 p.m. on a busy Saturday at the mall, so there were numerous witnesses who came forward who saw the murder.

Witnesses on the scene also reported that an argument between Campbell, Ballard, and black male with dreads, later identified as Ballard’s ex-boyfriend Darius Nelson, led up to the murder. Campbell was Darius Nelson’s new girlfriend.

Belk surveillance video captured the entire murder. The surveillance video showed Campbell shoot at Ballard from her vehicle, while Darius Nelson stood by the vehicle and watched. Ballard was standing in the parking lot, unarmed and 10 feet away. As Ballard began to walk away, Campbell got out of her vehicle and shot Ballard in the back of the head. Nelson and Campbell got into the car and fled the scene.

US Marshals arrested Nelson and Ballard hiding in a shed behind a house on Monroe Street on April 3, 2017. Both Campbell and Nelson confessed to police.

Judge Jay D. Hockenbury sentenced Campbell to 345-426 months in prison for second degree murder followed by a prison sentence of 36-56 months for discharging a weapon into occupied property. The discharge weapon into occupied property charge resulted from a stray bullet shattering the back window of a Honda in the parking lot. A mother and her child were sitting in the car at the time, and the child suffered minor
cuts.

Ballard worked at New Hanover Regional Hospital and was attending Cape Fear Community College full time. She would have turned 25 on April 21, 2017.

Nelson’s charges for Accessory after the Fact to First Degree Murder and Felony Obstruction of Justice are still pending. His next court date is April 9.