An 18-year-old Marine who allegedly went AWOL is accused of killing his grandmother, according to officials in North Carolina.
Sally Copeland Evans, 74, was reported missing on Thursday after family members said they hadn’t seen her for several days, the sheriff’s office in Halifax County, North Carolina, said.
The last one to see Evans was her 18-year-old Marine grandson, Isaiah Kahleal Evans Caeser, the sheriff’s office said.
Caeser, stationed at Fort Benning in Georgia, had been absent without leave since April 1 and was wanted for desertion, according to the sheriff’s office and military officials. He had entered the Marines in June 2017.
According to family, Evans was trying to convince her grandson to go back to the military, the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities found Caeser at a hotel in the Rocky Mount, North Carolina, area. He allegedly used his grandmother’s credit card to buy a room, the sheriff’s office said.
Explosive material was found in the room and the hotel was evacuated, the sheriff’s office said, but no bomb was found.
Caeser was taken into custody, charged with the murder of his grandmother and served with a fugitive warrant for desertion, the sheriff’s office said. He is set to appear in court on May 16.
The sheriff’s office said his grandmother was found dead at an undisclosed location near Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, which is about 45 miles away from Rocky Mount.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Rocky Mount Police Department at 252-972-1411.
ABC News’ Devin Villacis contributed to this report.
