Insurance agency owner accused of killing auditor

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A judge has rejected a request from a Charlotte insurance agency owner charged in the death of a state investigator for a public defender.

Michael Howell of Indian Trail made an initial court appearance Tuesday on a charge of first-degree murder. He is suspected of slaying 44-year-old Sallie Rohrbach, an investigator with the state Insurance Department.

Public defender Susan Weigand argued the 40-year-old Howell can't afford to pay for two attorneys, to which he would be entitled as a defendant in a capital murder case. But District Court Judge Bill Constangy ruled he has the income to pay for his own defense.

Rohrbach was sent to Charlotte last week to audit Howell's insurance agency. Detectives have yet to find her body, but say they have evidence from Howell and Rohrbachs' cars.

Authorities say Rohrbach's slaying was connected to her duties as an auditor, and that evidence was found in both her car and Howell's vehicle.

On Tuesday night, Rohrbach’s uncle said it is easier knowing someone has been arrested in the case.

“It made me feel real good," Ford Jordan said.

A spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Insurance says Rohrbach was first scheduled to meet with Howell last Monday and was last seen on Wednesday.

She was supposed to meet with a supervisor from the agency on Thursday and when she didn’t check in, red flags went up, prompting them to check in with her husband and then police. A search Sunday turned up Rohrbach’s car at a Bojangles parking lot about a mile from the insurance agency, but WCNC spoke with a worker there who says she remembers seeing the car in the parking lot as early as Wednesday afternoon.

Jordan, who is Rohrbach's uncle, says the whole thing has been difficult for the family to accept, saying Rohrbach loved her work and had been with the state for eight years.

“Oh yes, she enjoyed her work, and I feel like she was good at it," Jordan said. "Sallie was a happy person. I think she enjoyed life altogether."

Jordan says the only thing that’s giving him peace of mind is knowing that Howell is under arrest.

“It made me feel real good," he said. "I feel like she didn't suffer too bad. I don't know that because we don't know the details.”

Rohrbach's office says the complaint she was investigating is now linked to her murder, confirming police seized her computer, and searched her university area hotel room.

“I still can't believe it," Jordan said. "She was a hardworking, good old country girl.”

Police still have not found Rohrbach's body, saying they charged Howell with murder based on evidence found in her car, his car and at the insurance agency.

(The Associated Press and WCNC's Michelle Boudin contributed to this report.)