USPS worker – Authorities in North Carolina say USPS rural letter carrier Brandi Reynolds was kidnapped and murdered while on her delivery route in Hays. A 56-year-old man, William Craig Durham, is arrested and charged with first-degree kidnapping and first-degree murder.
A rural letter carrier’s route turned deadly in western North Carolina—one that should have ended with delivered mail, not a search.
Brandi Reynolds. a United States Postal Service worker who worked as a rural letter carrier. was kidnapped and murdered while on her letter carrier route. authorities said. She was found dead on June 26 in Hays. North Carolina. a rural community of about 1. 500 people in Wilkes County. the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said in a statement.
Investigators were called to the scene at about 4:16 p.m. on June 26, according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Reynolds had been shot, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said.
Reynolds was on her USPS route when the incident happened, Postal Inspector Jessica Adams said.
Within days, attention turned from the location to the person now charged. William Craig Durham. 56. was arrested and is charged with first-degree kidnapping and first-degree murder in her death. according to court records. Court filings accuse Durham of restraining Reynolds and moving her from one location to another without her consent. “for the purpose of terrorizing” her.
An attorney representing Durham, Brendan Edge, declined to comment on the charges when reached on July 1.
Authorities have not said what motivated the alleged kidnapping and murder. It also has not been made clear whether Durham knew Reynolds.
Durham’s criminal history includes previous convictions for firearms offenses and kidnapping, records show.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation are jointly carrying out an investigation into Reynolds’ murder, officials said.
Reynolds was 35 years old, according to an online obituary. Her obituary said she was survived by two daughters who were “her whole world.” Her husband, Brent Andrew Reynolds, also died at 35 just a few months before, his obituary said.
USPS postal worker Brandi Reynolds North Carolina Hays Wilkes County kidnapping murder William Craig Durham U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigation