Shortly after 3 a.m. Monday, deputies with the Burke County Sheriff’s Office were called to a home on Barus Pond Loop in Valdese for what they described as a suspicious death. The person who died has been identified as 43-year-old Amanda Brooke Williams, and investigators say 43-year-old Troy Allen Deese was later tracked down in Smyth County, Virginia, where he was served with a warrant on a felony concealment of death charge and is now awaiting extradition to North Carolina.
What officials released
According to a press release from the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, deputies arrived at 3294 Barus Pond Loop at 3:17 a.m. on Monday and requested assistance from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation as detectives processed the scene. The release notes that the NC Medical Examiner, Burke County EMS and the Lovelady Fire Department also responded. The sheriff’s office described the case as an active investigation and said more information will be released when it is appropriate to do so.
Arrest and charges
In a post on the Burke County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page published Friday, officials publicly identified the deceased as Amanda Brooke Williams and said deputies had located Deese in Smyth County, Virginia, on Thursday. The post states that Deese was charged with felony concealment of death and placed in Smyth County custody pending extradition to North Carolina. Investigators have not released details about how Williams died, and the sheriff’s office says the NC Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death as the inquiry moves forward.
What the law says
Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-401.22, anyone who intentionally conceals a death by failing to notify law enforcement or by secretly disposing of a body can face a felony charge. In many situations that conduct is treated as a Class I felony, with tougher penalties available in certain circumstances. The statute also makes it a crime to disturb or dismember human remains and allows for more serious charges when a person knows the death did not occur from natural causes. Prosecutors will decide whether to pursue additional counts after reviewing the investigation and the medical examiner’s findings.
What happens next
The Burke County Sheriff’s Office says detectives are still gathering evidence and coordinating with state investigators. Deese remains in custody in Smyth County and will be extradited to Burke County for processing. Any further charges would come from the local district attorney following an evidence review. The sheriff’s office has asked anyone with information about the case to contact investigators and said it will provide updates as the case develops. Burke County Sheriff’s Office press release
