Columbus County Sheriff’s Office issues statement after murder investigation images released online

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office has released a statement following the leak of documents and images from a murder investigation.

Julian Juan Fipps was brutally murdered in January at a remote location on M M Ray Road in Columbus County. The Columbus County Sheriff’s Department says they conducted a thorough investigation including photographing and processing the crime scene, conducting interviews, retrieving tangential surveillance footage, and other typical tasks associated with a homicide investigation.

As a result of their time and dedication, an arrest was made, charging Xavier Thomas with the murder of Mr. Fipps.

Within the last week, it came to the attention of the Sheriff’s Office documents and images from the criminal investigation had been posted on social media.

“The public should rest assured that the District Attorney’s Office and the Columbus County Sheriff’s Department work tirelessly to bring justice to victims and their families,” a statement said. The utmost care is given to ensure a favorable outcome for the State. The reckless disclosure of information of pending cases compromises this goal, and as such, we are committed to protecting this information to the extent we have the ability to do so.”