Man charged in NC woman’s 1972 killing dies awaiting trial

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — A man charged with raping and killing a woman in North Carolina nearly 50 years ago has died in a state prison while awaiting trial.

Authorities say 68-year-old Larry Joe Scott was in the custody of the state Department of Public Safety when he died Friday at a prison in Raleigh.

A news release from Johnson County’s sheriff and top prosecutor didn’t identify a possible cause of Scott’s death, but it said he was taken to the prison after getting medical treatment at two hospitals.

Scott was scheduled to be tried in August on charges of first-degree murder, rape and kidnapping in the December 1972 killing of 33-year-old Bonnie Neighbors.

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