RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – A Sampson County woman who was reported missing March 28 and then found dead in the woods three days later was stabbed to death, according to an autopsy report released Tuesday.
Eileen Marie Carter, 41, of Garland, was reported missing by family members on March 28 around 10 p.m., authorities said. After she was reported missing, the sheriff’s office began an investigation.
According to the autopsy report, Carter was reported missing just “before her wrecked car was discovered abandoned in a wooded roadside field.”Carter’s phone was found several miles away from her abandoned vehicle, authorities said.
On March 31, a deputy patrolling the area around the Ingold community stopped on a dirt-covered hunting road and looked down a short distance where he found a dead woman, fully-clothed and resting against a dirt pile, the autopsy shows. She was later identified as Carter.
Authorities wouldn’t say at the time where Carter’s body was found because the location needed to remain private “for investigative purposes.” According to the autopsy, the scene “suggested a ‘struggle’ at the site, with variable sized blood stains located in three different areas, the largest beneath the woman’s body.”
The autopsy was performed between April 2 and April 4 and the cause of death was determined to be “multiple sharp force trauma,” according to the report.
UPDATE: Family heartbroken after Sampson County woman dies from 32 stab or slash wounds
Carter suffered 32 sharp force injuries, including “several stab wounds with single edge features,” the deepest of which was 5 inches in length. The autopsy shows nine head and neck wounds, 11 torso wounds — including six stab wounds of her back — and 12 wounds to her extremities.
The medical examiner deemed Carter’s manner of death to be a homicide.
Investigative Agency: Sampson CountySheriff’s Office at 910-592-4141
If you have any information on this case, please contact CUE Center for Missing Persons at(910) 343-1131 or call the CUE Center 24-hour tip line at (910) 232-1687. All information submitted to CUE Center for Missing Persons is confidential.