By Jessie Burchette
jburchette@salisburypost.com
MOORESVILLE ó Police are asking for help solving the murder of a 31-year-old Mooresville man in a nice, quiet neighborhood off N.C. 115.
Matthew Ryan Stewart, 31, died in his home on Shepherd Hill Drive early Tuesday.
His wife, Angela Stewart, with a wound in her arm, carried her 2-year-old son as she ran to a neighbor’s house for assistance.
Various news sources have reported that Ryan Stewart died of gunshot wounds and his wife was shot in the arm.
Mooresville Police Chief Carl Robbins said late Wednesday that police have no suspect and aren’t sure of the motive.
He immediately called in the State Bureau of Investigation.
Robbins said police found the man’s body in the house, declining to specify what area of the house. He sustained a fatal wound, but Robbins declined to specify the type of wounds, and also declined to specify if bullets or casings were found in the house.
Angela Stewart told police she and her husband were in bed when she saw somebody in the house and “they started firing.”
She described the person as a “tall male.”
The chief said police aren’t sure about possible forced entry into the house.
The couple have children, but Robbins did not know if they were home when the murder occurred.
Police and SBI are awaiting the results of an autopsy.
Ryan Stewart was a registered nurse, as is his wife. Ryan Stewart worked at Lake Norman Regional Medical Center, according to police. His wife worked at another area hospital.
Two of the couple’s three children were at home, according to published accounts.
Without a suspect or clear motive, Robbins said he asked the SBI to help because the agency has far more resources than the Mooresville Police Department.
“This is really an unusual case in Mooresville,” Robbins said. “We have a good, safe community here.”
He described the subdivision where the murder occurred, Gabriel Estates, as a nice neighborhood of fairly new two-story homes. The area is near Shepherd’s School off Shinnville Road.
Police surveyed the neighborhood to see if anyone heard or saw anything.
“Everybody described them as a good couple,” the chief said.
Police had not responded to any calls at the address previously.
“We feel like there is somebody out there with information,” Robbins said. Anyone with information related to the murder is asked to call the Mooresville Police Department at 704-664-3311.