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Search for answers continues in double shooting
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Published: October 4, 2008
CONCORD — Cars rolled down Highland Avenue Saturday as motorists looked to see the home where two people were killed and the second house where the alleged shooter barricaded himself from police.
Drivers slowed almost to a stop in front of the two homes.
The view Friday for some neighbors on the seldomly driven road was too much. But for family members of Melissa Jones, one of the two victims killed, looks could be deceiving. To them, there is more to the story than most realize.
Chris Willard, 28, of 307 Highland Ave., was arrested after a four-hour standoff Friday afternoon, police said. Investigators believe he shot and killed Jones, 27, and 57-year-old neighbor Joyce Fink, of 314 Highland Ave., before locking himself in his house.
Jones' father and step-mother were on their 301 Highland Ave. porch Friday when they noticed Willard walking toward Fink's home.
"I saw him moving that way," said Tony Jones, Melissa's father, pointing toward a driveway two homes up. "He was running toward their house ... then I heard the shots."
Jones estimated hearing between eight and 12 shots before he saw Willard running the 50 yards from Fink's home back to Willard's house. Jones expected what police would tell him hours later.
His daughter, who loved her pitbull and boxer dogs and was quick with a shoulder to lean on, was dead.
"Her body laid in that house from 11:30 until 9 that night," Jones said, tears welling up in his eyes. "You can't imagine how hard that is to know. I couldn't do anything for her; she was already gone."
Willard wasn't a stranger. He had grown up with the Jones' family. He had dated Melissa for more than a decade, family members said. The two had recently broken up, but that was two months ago.
After locking himself in his house, one of Willard's first phone calls was to Jones' cousin, Kelly Deese.
"When he told me what was happening, I couldn't believe it," Deese said. "You never expect something to ever get to this point."
Deese and several other Jones' family members, as well as Concord investigators, remained on the phone with Willard for about an hour until police cut the phone line to the house and placed a direct-line phone on the front porch, which would only allow communication between Willard and negotiators.
"The time I was on the phone with him, (Willard) kept talking about how much he loved her," Deese said. "He kept saying he didn't have anything left now that she was gone."
Concord Police Major Wendell Rummage said Friday at a press conference that the investigation led police to believe a domestic situation may have led to the shooting. Family members agreed that relationships may have played a role in what happened, but police and family said there are too many unanswered questions to be sure.
"We don't know all of the facts just yet, but we're looking for the answers," Deese said. "We do know that Chris isn't a monster like some people are making him out to be."
Both families have started reconstructing what happened over the past several months in their minds, trying to understand how it ended like this.
Willard is being held at the Cabarrus County Jail without bond. He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, officials said.
• Contact Josh Lanier: 704- 789-9144
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