Suspect on the run after woman killed, man’s body found in car trunk

CHARLOTTE, NC (WSOC) — Police are searching for a man they said is wanted in connection with a double homicide investigation in north Charlotte early Thursday morning.

Officers responded to a house on Red Clay Lane near West Sugar Creek Road around 4:30 a.m. after an injured woman drove herself to Carolinas Medical Center-University about 30 minutes earlier and frantically alerted authorities to the crime.

Police said that woman was hurt badly but will survive.

When officers arrived at the house, they found one person dead inside.

That victim has been identified as 65-year-old Jacquline Gordon-White.

Detectives learned that a second victim, 69-year-old Rufus Gordon, was missing from the home.

A short time later, officers responding to CMC-University found a man they believe to be Gordon dead in the trunk of the car that the woman drove to the hospital.

The two victims were husband and wife.

Officers said they are actively searching for a suspect, 40-year-old Vurnel Smith Jr.

Vurnel Smith Jr.

Police said Smith is likely driving a 2017 black Honda CRV with North Carolina tag PAS-9116.

If anyone sees that vehicle or knows the whereabouts of Smith, they are urged to call 911 immediately.

Neighbors told WSOC reporter Mark Becker that they think Gordon was the father of the woman who drove herself to the hospital.

Eyewitness News spoke with a man who did not want to be identified but said that Smith and his wife lived at the home and that the woman’s parents had just moved in with them.

The neighbor also said he saw Smith on Wednesday and that Smith was talking about wanting to leave his wife and appeared to be very agitated.

Detectives said the crime is domestic in nature and that everyone involved is related to each other.

Neighbors told WSOC they were shocked after learning about the crimes. They said Red Clay Lane is typically a pretty quiet street filled with lots of families.

Residents told Eyewitness News reporter Gina Esposito that they woke up to flashing lights and sirens just before 5 a.m.

“It’s very scary,” said one neighbor who told WSOC she is praying for the family. “This is a very nice neighborhood and quiet area, so I’m very shocked.”

Other neighbors told WSOC that they never heard any commotion overnight to signal anything was wrong inside the house.

Officers have blocked off access to Red Clay Lane and there were detectives and crime scene investigators at the house.

Police have not released a cause of death.

The slayings mark Charlotte’s 52nd and 53rd homicides of 2017.

WSOC checked and found that Smith has been arrested before.

In 2015, a woman who he knew accused Smith of raping and assaulting her in her Harrisburg home.

Smith was charged, but the case has not gone to trial.