A China Grove man charged with killing his ex-girlfriend made his first court appearance Tuesday morning.
Wayne Eugene Hill, 55, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Roxanne Fowler Maddry, 48, whose body was found Saturday in his Poplar Street home. He’s being held without bond in the Rowan County jail.
Hill was escorted into Rowan County District Court wearing an orange detention center jumpsuit, flip flops, handcuffs and leg shackles. Judge Marshall Bickett told Hill the minimum sentence he could receive would be life in prison. He could also be sentenced to death.
The first appearance was brief and the only words Hill spoke were to request an attorney. Hill will receive a capital defender, and the judge appointed James Davis Sr. as his provisional attorney.
Authorities described Maddry as Hill’s girlfriend. Family members, however, told a Post reporter the two had broken up and that Maddry went to Hill’s home because he asked her over so he could give her a gift.
Her son, Derric Maddry, reported her missing on Saturday.
“I don’t know why this man did this to her. She was the sweetest. She didn’t deserve this at all,” said Relative Amanda Scull.
Scull, who lives in Hampton, Va., hasn’t been to North Carolina to visit in some time, but said she kept in contact with Maddry via the social networking site Facebook.
Scull said Maddry’s life revolved around her family, including sons Joey and Derric, as well as her granddaughter. She worked at F&M Bank for nearly 17 years.
Scull said she never met Hill, but heard good things about him from other family.
“It blows my mind to know what happened in that house,” Scull said.
Police found Maddry’s car at Hill’s home and discovered her body inside the home.
A medical examiner has found that Maddry was choked to death — she did not die of blunt force trauma as originally believed, said China Grove Police Chief Eddie Kluttz.
Authorities say Hill, a well-known karate instructor in China Grove, wrecked his car at the Stanly-Montgomery county line Saturday night and was found in a wooded area Sunday morning. He was taken to the hospital with self-inflicted injuries to his wrists.
The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office and the SBI assisted the China Grove Police in their investigation.
Kluttz said although there’s been an arrest his department is still investigating. Anyone with information is asked to contact China Grove Police Officer D.P. Walther at 704-857-7755.