A Chapel Hill man is facing serious charges after Durham police arrested him this week in connection with the killing of a woman whose body was found in a wooded area near the Glenn School Road Walmart last fall. The victim was discovered on Sept. 18, 2025, and the suspect has been identified as 51-year-old Anson Allen Haviland.
According to The News & Observer, Haviland was booked on counts of murder and attempted first-degree rape and is being held in the Durham County jail without bond. The News & Observer reports that investigators, citing court documents and search warrants, allege the victim suffered two stab wounds and was asphyxiated with a plastic bag.
As reported by ABC11, officers with the Durham Police Department found the woman on Sept. 18 in a wooded area near the Walmart at 1525 Glenn School Road, where she was pronounced dead at the scene. Family members later identified her as 44-year-old Kenashi McGraw.
What investigators say
Court records and a search warrant reviewed by The News & Observer state that Haviland walked into Durham police headquarters three days after the killing and provided information to detectives. The documents say he told officers he had consensual intercourse with the victim on Sept. 13, that he recently had a cut on his pinky he said came from opening something, and that he submitted a buccal swab for DNA testing.
The warrant also says Haviland told police he overheard two men talking about sexually assaulting the woman before she was killed, details investigators said they are working to corroborate. McGraw’s family told the paper they are “relieved that an arrest has been made” and pray the suspect will not have the chance to “inflict this kind of pain upon anyone else again.”
Legal implications
Under North Carolina law, a conviction for first-degree murder carries the most severe penalties, including life in prison or death, as outlined in the state’s criminal code on homicide definitions and punishments. Sexual offenses and attempts to commit them are prosecuted under the state’s rape and sexual-offense statutes, and attempted first-degree sexual offenses are felonies addressed in that statutory scheme. For the relevant statutes and penalties, see the North Carolina General Assembly.
Durham police and prosecutors say the case remains under active investigation. Authorities have asked anyone with information to contact investigators, and ABC11 noted that Durham police provided a dedicated tip line and CrimeStoppers contact for leads related to the Sept. 18 incident.
