ORANGE COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) — After rejecting a plea bargain offer by the prosecution on Monday, the murder trial of Issiah Ross, involving two Orange County teens, officially begins today with jury selection expected to start.
Ross is accused of killing two teens, Lyric Woods and Devin Clark, in 2022.
Although Ross was 17 years old at the time of the incident, he is being tried as an adult. He is facing two counts of first-degree murder, which could mean life without parole if convicted by a jury.
The state offered a plea deal that would have dropped the charges to two counts of second-degree murder and avoided a life without parole sentence, but Ross rejected the state’s offer and declined to make a counteroffer.
Ross has been in custody since his arrest and is being tried as an adult.
Woods, who was 14 years old from Orange County, and 18-year-old Clark from Mebane, went missing in September of 2022.
How we got here
Both their families had separately reported Woods and Clark missing.
Law enforcement says they didn’t know the two cases were connected until two men riding four-wheelers found their bodies with multiple gunshot wounds.
ABC11 spoke with Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood on Sunday, who remembers Woods as a teen whose life was taken too soon.
“It’s very, very difficult not to let your personal feelings wander into these types of instances, especially if you’re a parent, whether you’re a seasoned investigator or brand new on the job. It hits you and you realize the frailty of life,” said Sheriff Blackwood.
Evidence led law enforcement to Issiah Ross 2 weeks later, who had made his way to Delaware.
The public learned that Ross and Clark attended the same high school, but details about a possible motive have been sealed.
Copyright © 2026 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Bianca Holman
Source link