'It's justice': Cellmate charged with murder of 64-year-old man, Harnett sheriff says
WRAL News learned Monday the cellmate of William Surles, 64, who was found dead in his bunk last year, will be charged with his murder.
Surles, an inmate in the Harnett County Detention Center, was found dead in his cell in December 2022 while serving a 30-day sentence for violating probation for a DWI charge.
Harnett Sheriff Wayne Coats told WRAL News a grand jury is expected to indict Devonte Headen with Surles' murder.
An autopsy revealed Surles was physically assaulted and sustained blunt force trauma to the head.
Antonio Surles, William Surles' grandson, said "it's justice" for his family.
"We have been trying to figure out what is what, who did what and what's the cause of it," he explained. "It brings a little bit of justice, [but] it's still sad we lost him the way that we did."
Lawanda Snead, Surles' daughter, told WRAL News she was looking forward to picking up her father after completing his sentence. Surles was killed days before his release.
"It's been hard for her," Antonio Surles said. "She's an only child. She talked to him everyday. It's hard for her and hard for me too and my siblings."
Snead and others claimed investigators weren't answering their questions about how Surles died at the time of his death – and heard stories that made them concerned.
“I got calls from people that are in there that called some of my other relatives that said he was beaten," she said. "And somebody that worked there said that one day when she was taking my father out, she noticed his eyes was swollen."
Family members said Surles was diabetic, but they didn’t think that caused his death in the months after his murder.
"We were looking up stuff and we see a whole lot of people that have had the same issue with their loved one being killed in that jail," Surles' said. "In that exact same jail."
At least four deaths occurred in the Harnett County Jail since 2011. Prior to Surles' death, the most recent death was two years ago when Eric Griffith was found dead in his cell. The Harnett County Sheriff's Office has faced dozens of lawsuits over the treatment of inmates at the jail.
WRAL News has reached out to Sheriff Coats about the case and others and what practices are in place to make the jail safer and is waiting to hear back.
For now, Surles' grandson is hoping his grandfather's murder will make people who work in the jail more aware of what's going on.
"I'd like to see justice for my grandfather and other family members as well," he said. "Yes, they may have done something bad and they are in there, but still, they are human beings. You have to be vigilant and watch over them."
