Neighbors shocked as 69-year-old Whiteville woman charged in nearly 50-year-old infant cold case
WHITEVILLE, NC (WWAY) — After nearly 50 years, a cold case has been solved in Columbus County.
A house in Whiteville sat barely illuminated on Wednesday evening, friends seen talking on the front porch earlier in the day, following the news that one of the homeowners, 69-year-old Cathy McKee, had been arrested.
News that quickly became known to her neighbors, like Sue Tyson.
“I couldn’t hardly believe it. That’s terrible,” Tyson said.
Back in 1979, the world saw several major events, including the Iran Hostage Crisis, the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, and the Three Mile Island nuclear accident.
And in Columbus County, the body of a newborn girl was found in the county landfill, a crime that lay cold for 47 years, until Tuesday, when investigators arrested McKee, charging her with felony concealing the birth of a child.
“I only know her just from living on the same road that she lives on, but I always thought of her as a real nice person,” Tyson said.
On Wednesday night, WWAY went to see if that was the case by knocking on the McKees’ door, but a man closed the door without speaking to our reporter.
Another neighbor WWAY spoke with said she hadn’t heard about the arrest and that she didn’t believe McKee would have ever done such a thing.
Columbus County Sheriff Bill Rogers said detectives reopened the case around 2 years ago, and that advances in DNA technology helped identify McKee as the infant’s mother.
McKee had been asked to voluntarily give a DNA sample as part of the investigation.
The State Bureau of Investigation assisted with the case and when WWAY reached out for a comment, a spokesperson with the SBI said the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office deserves the recognition for their hard work.
Rogers thanked the work of his detectives and the ones who worked the case nearly 50 years ago, for everything they did in closing the case.
“We brought closure to the baby,” Rogers said. “I mean, now we know where the baby comes from, so it just brings closure. And what it makes me feel good in my heart is not the sheriff because I have other things, but my detectives before me in 1979, to take us up through the years and my detectives now has worked really hard to solve this case.”
Rogers said while he doesn’t have a dedicated cold case detective, he hopes the success from solving this case could allow him and his office to put more resources into solving other cold cases.
“That would be nice to have a detective we could just help work cold case files and help on something. It would be great to get one, you know, but like you say, it’s budgeted money and how the county goes. I promise you I’ll be asking because you know, even when I solve your case, its going to mean the world to you. You know, it don’t matter if I solved the other person’s case, so everybody’s case means the world to them.”
Rogers said his office is in contact with the district attorney’s office regarding any additional charges, but added that the case is unique, as any new charges would have to be based on what the law was back in 1979.
McKee was given a $20,000 secured bond.
