Columbus Co. man pleads guilty to grandmother’s murder

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A Columbus County man has pleaded guilty to second degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon in the 2011 murder of his grandmother.

Investigators said Jesse Vernon Pace, who was 29 at the time, cut his grandmother Betty Smith Pace’s throat in her home in Hallsboro. Investigators said Pace was found with his grandmother’s car, ATM cards and cell phone.

Betty Smith Pace, 75, was known as a loving and prideful woman by friends and family. She raised her grandson Jesse Pace. 

According to the Brunswick County DA’s office Pace was sentenced 30 to 37 years in prison.