CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A 21-year-old man killed three men in a Huntersville neighborhood before fatally shooting himself, police said Friday. Their bodies were discovered over a three-day span this week.
Huntersville police on Friday identified Michael Jacob Matocha as the suspect.
The shooting is the first triple homicide in the north Mecklenburg County town, Huntersville police Sgt. Odette Saglimbeni said at a news conference at police headquarters.
Police don’t know what prompted the shootings, the sergeant said. Matocha had no criminal record, she said.
The investigation began Tuesday when police received a call for medical assistance at 2:52 p.m. in the 17500 block of Caldwell Station Road. That’s along a private gravel road in a community of about a dozen mobile homes off N.C. 115.
Paramedics arrived and found 58-year-old Michael Eugene Elliott dead with gunshot wounds, police said. A family member had discovered Elliott and called police, Saglimbeni said.
Because of the circumstances surrounding Elliott’s death, the homicide investigation continued into Wednesday.
The next day, officers found Kendrick Logan Knight, 26, in a nearby wooded area, police said. Knight had multiple gunshot wounds and was the only victim who also had been stabbed, Saglimbeni said.
On Thursday, police found 41-year-old Philip Daryl Jewell dead in his home. Police detectives also found Matocha dead at the site with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Saglimbeni.
Matocha didn’t live in the neighborhood but was Knight’s friend, Saglimbeni said. She said police don’t know where Matocha lived.
People interviewed by police have been cooperative, the sergeant said, adding that police have rarely had to respond to any previous incidents along the quiet road.
Several neighbors declined to comment when approached by a Charlotte Observer reporter and other media on Friday. Two men along the road said it was a private community with no trespassing signs posted and told reporters to leave.
“This is still a very active investigation,” Saglimbeni said.
She urged anyone with information to call Huntersville police Lt. Sean Freeston at (704) 464-5400 or contact North Mecklenburg Crime Stoppers at (704) 896-7867; http://www.northmeckcrimestoppers.org.
