Delia D'Ambra

Based on the evidence gathered at the crime scene, which included a rifle and several spent rifle cartridges, it seemed Levi had been shot first while in the basement.

And when Rhonda had seemingly gone to investigate the disturbance, she'd been killed outside the house near the porch while trying to flee.

After being shot, her body was then dragged down to the basement.

The rest of the home was in disarray with stuff strewn everywhere and a television set missing from a wall.

Authorities quickly noted that the front door of a neighbor's home had been kicked in and several firearms, including a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, were missing.

Investigative reports state that from the jump, law enforcement's prime suspect was the couple's son, Troy.

The vehicle the responding deputy had seen him driving belonged to his dad, and it was later found abandoned in nearby McDowell County.

In addition to that, Troy's extensive prior criminal record for offenses including assault, drug possession, breaking and entering, larceny, fraud, DWI, and manslaughter put him at the very top of authority's suspect list.

And the assumption that he was responsible for his parents' murders was spot on because over the course of the next four or five hours, word got out that authorities were looking for him.

And during that time, he went on the run.

He stole and crashed several vehicles, including a tow truck, which he eventually wrecked off a private road after passing by an investigative command post that had been set up to apprehend him.

Shortly before bailing out of the crashed tow truck, he'd hit an NC Department of Transportation vehicle in the area.

After abandoning the tow truck, Troy ran off into a densely wooded piece of property that housed an outbuilding, broke into it, and holed up there before fleeing again.

The homeowner who saw him run back into the woods dialed 911 and reported to authorities that he'd been spotted in the general area.

Meanwhile, as many as 150 officers from various law enforcement agencies organized a manhunt for him and pieced together the string of car thefts he'd committed earlier that morning.

The best outcome was to precisely pinpoint his location and take him into custody without incident.

So shortly after noon, additional resources were called in to help find Troy, and some of those resources included tracking dogs.

At the time, the city of Morganton had their own canines, but those dogs had only recently wrapped up their training and were really new to the job.

So authorities asked a local U.S.

Forest Service officer named Jason Crisp to come to the command post with his more seasoned canine, Maros.