Woman charged with murder in case of missing 70-year-old Lincolnton man

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A woman is now charged with the murder of a missing 70-year-old Lincolnton man who was found dead earlier this week in a wooded area.

36-year-old Kayla Bessette was charged Friday in the death of Tony Maddox. Maddox was last seen alive in Lincolnton on May 26th. His car was found abandoned in south Charlotte the next day, May 27th.

Bessette has been in the Mecklenburg County Jail since May 30th, charged with attempted murder in a separate case. Court records for that show she followed Tony Ngui home from a grocery store in east Charlotte, broke into his apartment, beat and choked him, then stole his money and took off. Using surveillance video from the grocery store, police say they identified Bessette, and later that day found her at a bus stop with bloody hands.

An arrest warrant reveals Bessette confessed to the east Charlotte break-in, assault and robbery, smiling when detectives asked her about it, and saying Ngui “deserved it.”