NC: I2 Yr. Old Missing Boy Found Dead!
Slimpickins
By MARK PRICE ROBERT F. MOORE
Staff Writers
Bessie Huddleston suspects her 12-year-old grandson, Billy,
was smarter than most boys his age. Whether that's what got
him killed last week is unclear.
All she knows for sure is that there is a lot that's not
being
said, and she's just starting to ask questions.
"The police aren't saying much because they don't want to
mess up any leads," said Huddleston, 67, as she waited at
the
Albemarle home she shares with Billy's father, William
Huddleston Jr. "I was holding out hope up until the very
end
that he'd be coming home. I spent 31 hours sitting in the
same
chair at his mama's house, waiting for news from anybody."
Now it's a different kind of wait, as police follow leads
to find
the boy's killer.
On Sunday, Stanly County Sheriff Tony Frick released few
new details about the investigation, saying only that
police had
"several good leads."
Billy was last seen on Tuesday, getting into a small red or
burgundy car in Oakboro with two men he apparently knew.
"We've spoken with the people in the car, even before the
body was found," Frick said. "We've got a lot of people's
names on the list right now. The car is not our only
angle."
Frick said investigators were waiting for autopsy results
to
determine how Billy was killed. The results may also show
when and where he was killed. Results can take weeks, but
Frick said he was pushing to "speed up the process."
So far, authorities have said there was no obvious trauma
to
Billy's body, found in a Union County cornfield late
Friday,
and that a weapon had not been recovered.
Since Billy was reported missing on Tuesday, police have
interviewed more than 200 people, he said. Fearing the case
would become a murder investigation, Frick called in the
FBI
and SBI to help process evidence.
"After the first 24 hours, a 12-year-old is going to call
mommy, daddy or his best friend," he said. "When that
didn't
happen, our hopes started to go downhill."
Billy's father expressed frustration with the investigation
on
Sunday, noting through a family friend that investigators
are
not keeping the family informed. "They are not telling the
family anything," said Barbara Eudy. Billy's father "is
going
through the grief process, with the added stress of not
knowing
anything. He's angry."
Instead of planning a homecoming, the family of the boy who
loved fishing, eating corn bread and riding his
four-wheeler
spent the weekend planning a funeral.
His grandmother has cared for the boy every other weekend
since his parents, Rachel and William Huddleston, divorced
about 10 years ago. "You couldn't have asked for a better
grandson," she said.
She said the outpouring of community support continued to
overwhelm the family Sunday. "Blacks, whites, Mexicans,
people all over this town have been terrific."
Staff writer Katie Abel contributed to this article.
WANT to HELP?
Visitation will be held at 7 p.m. tonight at Hartsell
Funeral
Home, 522 N. Second St., Albemarle. The funeral will be
held
at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Congregational Christian Church, 1119
Carolina Ave., also in Albemarle, where Billy and his
family
often worshipped. To donate money for funeral costs, send
checks to Congregational Christian Church, 1119 Carolina
Ave, Albemarle, NC. 28001. Note on the check that it is for
the Huddleston Relief Fund. Anyone with information is
asked
to call the Stanly County Sheriff's Office at (704)
986-3730 or
Union County Crime Stoppers at (704) 283-5600.
http://www.charlotte.com/0731billy.htm
Secret Sauce for Hire
>To donate money for funeral costs, send
> checks to Congregational Christian Church, 1119 Carolina
> Ave, Albemarle, NC. 28001.
Capt Jazzbeau
Maggie
***Then I'd advise you not to contribute.
Maggie
"A long dispute means that both parties are wrong." Voltaire
Renzoku Satujinn
thought of that.
Alex
>
> ***Then I'd advise you not to contribute.
>
> Maggie
>
> "A long dispute means that both parties are wrong." Voltaire
>
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