Murder in Bessemer City

BESSEMER CITY, N.C. -- Police have arrested a woman’s ex-boyfriend after they say he attacked her and her grandson inside her Bessemer City home.

Gaston County Police arrested Kenneth Monroe Owens, 40, Monday morning, just hours after the stabbings that left Carolyn Barnette, 50, dead and her 11-year-old grandson severely injured.

Police were called to the home on Maine Avenue around 7 a.m. Investigators say the grandson had been stabbed 11 times but managed to call his mother who called 911. Paramedics transported him to Gaston Memorial Hospital and then airlifted him to CMC where he underwent surgery.

Family members say the boy had been staying with his grandma the last few days while school was out.

“When I spoke to him he was very, very weak. He tried to fight for his grandma,” said Josh Barnette, Carolyn Barnette’s son. “She’s lived her life; I can deal with that but to an 11-year-old child. He hasn't lived his full life and to do something like this to him?”

Shortly after police arrived on the scene, they arrested Owens at his home a few streets away and found what they believe is the murder weapon. They say Owens and Barnette dated for seven years but haven’t been together for the last two or three years. A motive is still unclear.

“We thought it was over and done with but as we see, it wasn't,” said Josh Barnette.

Neighbors said they didn’t hear anything suspicious. Barnette was at church Sunday night, her church friends said.

Barnette's relatives say she has struggled with illness most of her life and has at times been house ridden. They say her only hope was to make it to see the birth of her youngest grandchild, who she held for the first time earlier this month.

“She got to hold him and cuddle him and that made her world. The four-week-old, he won't know his mama, how good of a memory she was to people,” said Josh Barnette.

Barnette's 11-year old grandson is recovering at Carolinas Medical Center. He is expected to survive.

Owens is in the Gaston County Jail charged with first degree murder, attempted first degree murder and burglary. His first court appearance on these charges is Tuesday afternoon. Jail records show he was released Oct. 26 after serving 53 days for a failure to comply charge.