DNA evidence helps crack murder mystery

The family of a woman brutally murdered in 1985 finally has closure knowing that her killer is behind bars - and has been for nine years.

This is a time of joy and grief for the family of Benita Green Murphy whose case remained open without an arrest until Wednesday.

"It’s not over yet," said her son, B.J. Murphy, during a press conference. "This is the beginning of a good end for our family."

Evidence that was re-submitted to the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) Crime Laboratory for DNA analysis was matched to a convicted offender in the state’s database.

"I couldn’t believe we got a hit," said Jenny Elwell for the SBI. "I was floored."

Johnny Ray Mewborne, 44, currently serving a life sentence at Maury Correctional Institution for a violent habitual felon charge, was charged Wednesday with the murder, rape and kidnapping of Benita Murphy, as well as the armed robbery of Scotchman’s Store on North Queen Street.

He is currently being held in the Lenoir County jail without bond. His first court appearance is scheduled for Monday.

Murphy’s daughter, Bonnie Murphy Wallace, was two young to understand why her mother never returned home on Feb. 23, 1985 and left her and three of her siblings behind.

Kinston police officers responded to Scotchman’s Store after customers reported the store open and unoccupied.

Upon arrival, officers found Benita Murphy’s car still parked at the store. The cash register was found open with $50 missing from it.

Murphy, 27, was found raped stabbed to death more than seven hours after she had been reported missing. Her partially nude body was found by a rabbit hunter off a wooded path located in the northwest portion of Lenoir County.

"It was humbling to know that people were still working on her case," Wallace said, who was 3-years-old at the time of her mother’s death.

Investigators contacted Wallace’s father, Buster Murphy, to notify him and other family members of the arrest.

"There have been a lot of tears," Wallace said.

A.G. Smith with the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office will never forget the Murphy case.

"It was the first murder case I was assigned to," he said. "A case like this sticks to people’s minds."