UNION COUNTY, NC: A Marshville man is being held in the Union County Jail on two murder charges. The crimes happened 24 years apart. Around 6:30 Tuesday morning, members of the Union County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team arrested 61 year old Eddie Clyde Helms at his home on Fountain Hill Church Road.
Helms is charged in the August 30, 2012 murder of Charles Ronald Godwin and the November 10, 1988 murder of John Terow Griffin, III of Peachland, NC. Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey says detectives found evidence linking Helms to the Griffin murder while working the Godwin case. UCSO notes similiarities between the Godwin and Griffin murders — both victims were shot in the back and both murders happened around the same time as other unrelated murder cases in their respective counties.
A motive isn’t being shared at this time, but Sheriff Cathey says investigators think anger and jealousy played a role in both murders. In addition to murder, Helms is also charged with stalking Charles Godwin and a woman identified in the case.
