Attorney General Jeff Jackson Secures Convictions in Murder and Sex Offense Cases Across North Carolina

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
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RALEIGH - Attorney General Jeff Jackson and the North Carolina Department of Justice secured criminal convictions in 10 Court of Appeals opinions released Oct. 7, including a murder case in Gaston County, a rape case in Pitt County, and a child sex offense case in McDowell County.

The convictions were originally argued and obtained in trial courts by district attorneys. The North Carolina Department of Justice is responsible for defending criminal convictions obtained by local district attorneys when the cases are heard in the state's appellate courts.

"Each of these defendants was convicted of serious criminal offenses," said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. "In cases like these, it's my office's job to ensure that justice is upheld and that dangerous defendants are kept off our streets. We're going to continue working to keep North Carolinians safe from violent crime."

In State v. Sanders, the Court of Appeals upheld Marshawn Devon Sanders' conviction of first-degree murder. The case was originally tried by the office of Gaston County District Attorney Travis Page. Around February 2020, Sanders and his girlfriend broke up, and she moved out of the home they shared. She took money out of Sanders' bank account and took his gun and gave it to her friend. In April 2020, Sanders texted his ex-girlfriend about the money and gun and threatened her. In June 2020, Sanders and his new girlfriend drove to Gastonia to find his ex-girlfriend, who was reportedly staying at her sister's house, and saw her at a gas station. Sanders opened fire toward his ex-girlfriend's car, hitting his ex-girlfriend's friend, who was shot in the chest and died at the scene.

In State v. Parker, the Court of Appeals upheld Kevin Earl Parker's convictions of first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense, and robbery with a dangerous weapon. The case was originally tried by the office of Pitt County District Attorney Faris Dixon. In July 2006, the victim opened the windows in her Greenville home and went to bed. She later woke to Parker standing at the foot of her bed, holding what appeared to be a knife. Parker raped the victim multiple times and told her he was going to take money from her purse. After Parker left, the victim called the Greenville Police Department and was taken to a hospital, where a forensic nurse completed a sexual assault kit. The State Crime Lab tested the kit, but no DNA matches were found. In 2020, officers requested that the kit be tested again because of advancements in DNA testing technology. The State Crime Lab entered the 2020 test results into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), and in July 2022, there was a CODIS hit that matched Parker's DNA from an earlier investigation. The State Crime Lab conducted additional confirmation testing, and Parker was indicted and later found guilty and sentenced to 288 to 355 months' incarceration for first-degree rape, 288 to 355 months' incarceration for first-degree sexual offense, and 77 to 102 months' incarceration for robbery with a dangerous weapon.

In State v. Strange, the Court of Appeals upheld Stephen Eric Strange's convictions of multiple child sexual offenses. The case was originally tried by the office of McDowell County District Attorney Ted Bell. In 2016, the victim and the victim's mom moved into Strange's house. Beginning in 2017 when the victim was 11 and Strange was 46, Strange raped and sexually assaulted the victim multiple times until the victim and the mother moved out of Strange's house in 2018. The victim later disclosed the rape, and the mother contacted law enforcement. Parker was sentenced to 300 to 420 months' imprisonment and ordered to register as a sex offender.

You can read more about other criminal convictions the North Carolina Department has successfully defended here.

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