ASHEVILLE, N.C. – A 20-year-old man has been formally indicted with second degree murder for killing a co-worker at the Pisgah Inn on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Derek Shawn Pendergraft, 20, of Asheville, N.C., is accused of killing S.E., a fellow employee, on July 24, 2018.
According to allegations contained in the indictment and the filed criminal complaint, Pendergraft had reported S.E. missing after they both got off work shortly after 4:00 p.m. and decided to go for a hike on an unnamed trail near the employee housing area of the Pisgah Inn.
However, court documents allege that when investigators interviewed Pendergraft, he stated that S.E. had decided to return to the housing area while he continued to hike, but later found her umbrella and hat lying on the ground.
Rangers and first responders searched the area and located S.E.’s body lying off an embankment, near a trail, within the boundary of the Blue Ridge Parkway, in Transylvania County, in the Western District of North Carolina.
Pendergraft is currently in custody and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison for the second degree murder charge.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray thanked the National Park Service, the FBI, the SBI, the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office, the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office, and the Cruso Fire Department for their respective work and assistance in this case.
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Don Gast and John Pritchard, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville.
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Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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