Derek Ward lived in the same apartment with his cousin, Brittani Ward. Police have not said how Brittani died specifically, but she was found dead in her apartment on May 5. After originally classifying the case as a death investigation, homicide detectives interviewed people living in the home, gathered evidence from the scene and sent Brittani Ward’s corpse to the medical examiner’s office for an autopsy.
When extended family members volunteered new information to detectives, they decided to conduct additional rounds of interviews. The accumulated evidence gathered was sufficient enough for a judge to sign a murder warrant for Derek Ward.
Interestingly enough, Derek Ward has no criminal history in the state of North Carolina, The Charlotte Observer reports, based on a search of court records. Nor is Ward listed as a sex offender in the state. Thus far, investigators have no motive for the rape or homocide. – terry shropshire
