Tyrone Lacour, 43, was extradited from Lancaster, Va., where U.S. marshals arrested him 10 days ago. He is being held in the Durham County Jail without bond and is scheduled to make his first court appearance Wednesday morning.
Lacour is charged with killing his roommate, Dennis Rowe, in November 2004. Investigators have described the slaying as particularly gruesome.
Rowe was beaten, stabbed and stuffed in a trash can. His head was covered in a plastic bag, his hands were tied behind him and parts of his body were wrapped in duct tape.
"He doesn't appear to have any regard for anyone," Person County Sheriff Dennis Oakley said. "He's a conniving type of person."
Lacour also was suspected of killing another roommate in Person County in 2001.
In that case, Eric Pennebaker was set on fire, and Lacour told authorities that it was suicide. Person County Sheriff's Office detectives later found one of Pennebaker's checks that had been forged and cashed after his death.
The case has stuck with Oakley.
"I felt like Lacour got away with murder, plain and simple, and it wasn't his first rodeo," he said.
He cited a 1999 case in which Lacour was convicted of assaulting a friend in San Francisco.
Although Person County authorities couldn't try Lacour for murder, Oakley said he's pleased Durham police believe they have the evidence they need to make a murder charge stick.
"I hope they put him under the jail," Oakley said.
• Credits
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
