A large black dog lays next to the burned remnants of a house on Swink Street on Sept. 2. Burke County Animal Services captured more than a dozen dogs from the scene following the fire.
Burke County Crimestoppers is offering $2,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspect or suspects in a fatal house fire deemed a double homicide.
Joseph Kincaid Byrd Jr., 76, and Michael Curtis Hallyburton, 63, were found dead at the scene of a house fire along Swink Street on Aug. 31, the Burke County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Both Byrd and Hallyburton were shot, the sheriff’s office confirmed Friday.
Byrd was a former lawyer and the son of Joe K. Byrd, one of the founders of the Byrd, Byrd, McMahon and Denton law firm in ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥.
The Burke County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the deaths with assistance from the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Virginia State Police and the Hickory Police Department.
The Burke County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information related to this case to call 828-764-9558. Crimestoppers tips can remain anonymous, and individuals who provide information leading to the arrest of the suspect(s) may be eligible for a $2,000 cash reward.
Sarah Johnson is a digital news reporter for the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ News Herald.
A large black dog lays next to the burned remnants of a house on Swink Street on Sept. 2. Burke County Animal Services captured more than a dozen dogs from the scene following the fire.
