The murder trial against Eric Campbell continues Monday at a courtroom in Granville County, North Carolina. Prosecutors say he helped his father Edward Campbell kill a local couple on December 31, 2014. Victims Jerome Faulkner, 73, Dora Faulkner, 62, and their two dogs were stabbed to death. Their house was burnt down. This was all part of an alleged crime spree from Texas to West Virginia.
Son Eric, now 23, must face the accusation alone because the elder Campbell killed himself while in custody as a pre-trial inmate at Central Prison in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The defense is claiming that Eric thought that the Faulkners were only going to get robbed, not murdered. Eric was too afraid to stop the killings, having been abused by Edward Campbell for years, the defense said.
Nonetheless, the prosecution says that the defendant was culpable. They claim that Eric got money to bond Edward out of a Texas jail and aided his father during the crime spree.
On Friday, D.B. Minchew, a deputy with the Granville County Sheriff’s Office, testified that a gun, propane cylinder, and fuel can were discovered in the burnt-down remnants of the Faulkners’ home. Managers of convenience stores in southern Virginia also took the stand, describing the contents of some surveillance footage. In footage, an allegedly stolen SUV and the Faulkners’ stolen Chevrolet Silverado can be seen getting gas. A man in black is seen entering the stores. Prosecutors say that is the defendant, and he never tried to get help. Father and son allegedly drove the vehicles.
Eric Campbell, who faces two counts first-degree murder, could get the death penalty if convicted. He has also been charged with first-degree burglary, robbery with a dangerous weapon, second-degree arson, and two counts of cruelty to animals.
[Screengrab via WRAL]