Family wants answers in slaying of man found in burnt Raleigh home

Curtis Lamont Mitchell, 32, had a learning disability, never completed high school and suffered from bipolar disorder, according to his family. His mother said he received daily medication from a home health nurse.

“He didn’t have to be treated that way,” his mother, Angela Mitchell, said. “They robbed my son, they killed my son and they burned my son up. I can’t see his body.”

Curtis Mitchell’s body was found after firefighters put out the blaze Wednesday at the home on Poole Road. Mitchell was last seen alive in the 1900 block of Poole Road about five or six hours before the fire was reported, police said.

Police have not said how he died, only that his death is a homicide.

The oldest of four children, Curtis Mitchell lived with his mother on Hawkins Street, about a mile and a half from the Poole Road house. Family members said he rarely his his neighborhood, so they don't believe he walked that distance by himself.

“I think somebody just played on his intelligence and used him and took advantage of him,” said his cousin, David Holden. “Curtis was a real nice, kind guy – loving guy, quiet observer. He didn’t bother nobody.”

Curtis Mitchell had a criminal record dating to 2000, including several convictions for breaking and entering and larceny. Since 2007, however, he mainly faced trespassing charges and other misdemeanors.

When Curtis didn’t come home last Tuesday afternoon and didn’t answer his cellphone, Angela Mitchell eventually called police.

“When I did, this is what I find out. My son is dead,” she said, adding that she was able to identify his body only because he had his house keys on him when he died.

Family members asked that anyone with information about the crime contact Raleigh police.

"He never bothered nobody. I don't know why these people – whoever did it – did it, but I'm hoping they pay for it," Angela Mitchell said. “Anybody out there who knows who did it, please come forward."