At viewing, community mourns two slain sisters from Emporia

By LINDA McNATT
The Virginian-Pilot

JARRATT - Even as the rain started to fall, the line stretched across the funeral home's parking lot as a community mourned two of its own.

Some waited more than an hour outside Owen Funeral Home to attend the viewing of Nellie Bradley, 71, and her 73-year-old sister, Dorothy Hobbs.

James Warf, a businessman and a friend of Hobbs' son, nearly broke down as he spoke about the women. "They were mothers, grandmothers, pillars of the community," he said. "I knew both of them."

Cynthia Batts served on the Greensville County Electoral Board with Cliff Rodgester, the victims' only brother.

"Wonderful women," she said. "They're a fine family."

Cindy Congleton grew up across the street from Bradley's family.

"Nellie was a great person, a great friend," she said. "She used to take me to church all the time. She was at my grandmother's funeral last week."

"They were both nothing but good," said Floyd Rae of New Kent County, a friend of Dorothy Hobbs' husband. " She loved to talk about her children and grandchildren. I don't know how W.T. is standing it. I had to cry."

The sisters' bodies were found Friday along a dirt path just north of Murfreesboro, N.C.; both had been stabbed multiple times.

Law enforcement officials on Tuesday still wouldn't say where they think the sisters were killed. Randy Gums, owner of The Butcher Block restaurant on Main Street, said Tuesday that the town of 700 had an eerie feeling. Residents were locking their doors - something seldom done - Gums said, and the talk was still about the two women, with whom many locals were acquainted.

"Everybody is wondering if it was local people who did it," Gums said. "I tell you, it's got people around here talking. The older ladies are saying they're afraid to leave their house by themselves. You just wonder what those ladies ran across. It's got everybody in town on edge."

Seven law enforcement agencies are involved in the investigation, with Hertford County Sheriff Juan E. Vaughan Sr. leading.

Vaughan commented briefly Tuesday that there were no updates.

Noelle Talley, with the North Carolina Department of Justice, said she could confirm only that the State Bureau of Investigation had joined the investigation at Vaughan's request. Other agencies are the FBI, Murfreesboro Police and the sheriff's departments in Northampton County, N.C., and Southampton and Greensville counties in Virginia.

Southampton Sheriff Vernie Francis referred questions to Vaughan.

The sisters, from a Greensville County farm family of six children, were adventurous and fun-loving, according to an acquaintance, Peggy Vaughan of Emporia, who said she had spoken with others familiar with the family.

Immediate family members have declined interview requests.

Dorothy Hobbs was the driver on short road trips with her sister, described in their obituaries as constant companions.

For years, Hobbs was an ambulance driver and volunteer with the rescue squad in Chase City, a town west of South Hill in Mecklenburg County, where her husband worked for the phone company. She had some medical training and drove for local doctors when their patients needed transportation, Vaughan said. She also took people to the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond.

Bradley, a widow, also had a passion for riding, which continued after her husband's retirement, even after his death. She loved to read license plates and was especially fond of personalized plates, friends said.

Bradley was the quieter of the two.

"She went to the same church with us for 40 years," said David C. Bass. "She'd had a lot of sickness in recent years, had to have several operations on the veins in her legs. A wonderful lady, good Christian."

The sisters liked to go to a fast food restaurant near Roanoke Rapids, where Dorothy was fond of the cheeseburgers, one of her favorite foods.

The close-knit family - brother, sisters, children, grandchildren - met Sundays after church at the home where Bradley, Hobbs and their siblings grew up. Though no one lives there, the home remained a family meeting place.