By NC WANTED Staff

Posted: Jun. 10, 2009
Updated: Jun. 17, 2009

SAMPSON COUNTY — What would have been Michael LaCass’s 25th birthday came and went last month, and his father feels no closer to justice than he did the night of January 5, 2008, when Michael was shot to death in his sister-in-law’s driveway in Salemburg.

Wayne LaCass described his son as a happy-go-lucky kid, the baby of the family. But Michael wasn’t perfect, his father said, and an ongoing fight with a local man may have cost him his life.

The Sampson County sheriff’s office did not return calls for a comment on this case, but LaCass said the investigation seems to be stalled.

According to his father, Michael was at a barbecue the night he was killed. He and his brother-in-law, Linwood D. Rich, went to a convenience store to buy more beer. While Michael was inside the store, a fight broke out between Rich and some other men that had an ongoing feud with Michael. Rich was arrested as a result of the fight, so Michael left the store and drove directly to his sister-in-law’s house.

He was gunned down in her driveway a short while later, LaCass said.

Six months passed without an arrest, and then Rich was murdered in a nightclub shooting. That case has been solved, and police have told LaCass that the two incidents are unrelated. He believes otherwise.

Rumors continue to circulate about what happened to Michael, and people in the community seem to have information that could benefit the investigation. He hopes someone will come forward with leads to help solve Michael’s murder and allow his family to grieve both losses fully, without waiting for answers.

“I just want to see justice done. I want some closure. I mean, this is terrible. They’re out there enjoying themselves while my son is six feet in the grave. I just don’t believe that’s fair,” he said.

LaCass, who lives in Clinton, said he has watched the area grow more and more violent over the past ten years. He wants to see an end to the cycle of violence, starting with the arrest or arrests of whoever killed Michael.

“It’s like the wild, wild west out here… I went to six funerals last year, and I don’t want to see anyone else get hurt,” he said.

If you have any information about the unsolved murder of Michael LaCass, call NC WANTED toll free at 1.866.43.WANTED (1.866.439.2683) or click on "Report a Tip" Your identity can be kept confidential.