Suspect in Charlotte Double Murder in Custody after Five Day Manhunt

CHARLOTTE, NC – Silence from Vurnel Smith Jr. as he left CMPD Headquarters Tuesday night.

The murder suspect refusing to answer any questions, covering his face with his hands and a Bible.

The break in the case came late Tuesday afternoon.

“Mr. Smith contacted CMPD and turned himself in voluntarily,” explains Capt. Chris Dozier.

Dozier says police still want to know where Smith was for the past five days.

Investigators say he killed his in-laws last week, hit his wife in the head with a metal object, and tied her up.

She got away and drove to CMC University.

Police later found her father 69-year-old Rufus Gordon dead in the trunk of the car.

They found her mother, 65-year-old Jacqueline Gordon-White dead inside the family’s home on Red Clay Lane in North Charlotte.

Smith faces several charges.

“He was charged with two counts of murder. One count of attempted murder. Kidnapping and several other charges in relation to this case,” Dozier says.

WCCB uncovered court documents showing Smith’s wife filed a complaint for a domestic violence protective order just days before the murders, but a judge denied her request.

Police say they hope the arrest will bring some comfort to Smith’s wife.

“She physically is going to be OK, obviously mentally, emotionally, this is something she’s going to have to work through, live with for the rest of her life,” Dozier says.