Three men have pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the December 2024 killing of 16-year-old Edwin Morales in Lincoln County, closing out a case that began when the teenager's body was found beside a rural road. Larue Lipscomb Jr., Isaiah Lipscomb and Michael Byrd were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 23 years to 28 years and eight months, to be served in the custody of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.
Superior Court Judge Daniel Kuehnert handed down the sentences, according to WSOC-TV, which reported that investigators believe the three men intended to rob Morales and shot him while he was inside a vehicle occupied by the victim and all three suspects. Investigators seized a gun and a vehicle as part of the case, and the station reported that evidence from the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office digital-forensics lab, along with interviews with the suspects, helped establish what happened that night.
A Teenager Taken From Outside His Home
The case dates back to December 2024, when officials said Morales had been taken from outside his home, robbed of personal items, then shot and left on the side of the road, according to WBTV. That account describes his body as having been found on Whitehouse Road on Dec. 15, while Hoodline's earlier coverage of the discovery reported that the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said the teenager's body was found on the side of Whitehouse Drive in Lincolnton. Both descriptions come from official reporting at the time, and the discrepancy between the two street names has not been reconciled in available records.
Authorities obtained warrants on Dec. 27, 2024, for then-20-year-old Michael Dujuan Byrd, then-17-year-old Isaiah Dashawn Lipscomb and then-35-year-old Larue Dean Lipscomb Jr., according to QC News. All three were initially booked without bond and charged with first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon and kidnapping, the outlet reported, charges that were ultimately resolved through guilty pleas to the lesser count of second-degree murder.
Search Warrants Stretched Into South Carolina
The investigation quickly crossed state lines. Search warrants were executed at various locations in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, as well as Clover and York County, South Carolina, WBTV reported at the time. Byrd is from Kings Mountain, Isaiah Lipscomb is from Clover, and Larue Lipscomb Jr. is from Gastonia, according to WSOC-TV's reporting on the guilty pleas.
The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office had launched a homicide investigation after the teen's body was found, and the digital forensics work described by the sheriff's office ultimately fed into the case that led to all three defendants entering guilty pleas nearly two years after Morales was killed. With sentencing now complete, the three men will serve their time in state prison custody under terms set by Judge Kuehnert.
