NC investigator’s accused killer faces new charges

RALEIGH — A North Carolina man charged with killing a state insurance investigator now faces more than two dozen embezzlement charges for keeping customer insurance premiums.

Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin’s office announced the charges Friday against 41-year-old Michael Howell. Howell also is charged with murder in the death of 44-year-old Sallie Rohrbach, who was reported missing two days after arriving in Charlotte to investigate Howell’s insurance business.

Howell told investigators Rohrbach left his office May 14. They later found blood in his business, and her body was found May 20 in a wooded area near Fort Mill, S.C.

Howell is being held without bond at the Mecklenburg County Jail. His next court hearing hasn’t been set. A call to his attorney Friday wasn’t immediately returned.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)