ASHEVILLE, N.C. – A federal criminal complaint was filed
today charging Derek Shawn Pendergraft, 20, of Asheville, N.C., with second
degree murder, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District
of North Carolina.
U.S. Attorney Murray is joined in making today’s
announcement by John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division; Neal D. Labrie, Chief Ranger of the
Blue Ridge Parkway; and Robert Schurmeier, Director of the North Carolina State
Bureau of Investigation (SBI).
According to allegations in the filed criminal complaint, on
the evening of July 24, 2018, Pendergraft, an employee of the Pisgah Inn on the
Blue Ridge Parkway, reported that a co-worker, identified in the complaint as
“S.E.,” was missing. The complaint
alleges that, when initially interviewed by investigators, Pendergraft stated
that he and S.E. both got off work shortly after four p.m. and decided to go
for a hike on an unnamed trail near the employee housing area of the Pisgah
Inn. Pendergraft stated that shortly after
starting their hike it began to rain and S.E. decided to return to the housing
area while he continued to hike.
According to the complaint, Pendergraft stated that on his way back,
upon reaching the point where he last saw S.E., Pendergraft saw her umbrella
and hat lying on the ground. Pendergraft
stated that he immediately began to search for S.E. and informed the management
staff at the Pisgah Inn that she was missing.
Rangers and first responders searched the area and located S.E.’s body
lying off an embankment, near a trail, within the boundary of the Blue Ridge
Parkway, in Transylvania County, in the Western District of North Carolina.
The complaint alleges that, on the evening of July 25, 2018,
the manager of the Pisgah Inn contacted law enforcement and advised that
Pendergraft was in her office and had confessed to killing S.E. Law enforcement arrived at Pisgah Inn,
interviewed Pendergraft, and arrested him shortly thereafter in connection with
S.E.’s murder.
Pendergraft is currently in custody. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life
in prison.
A complaint is merely an allegation and the defendant is
presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a
court of law.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked
the National Park Service, the FBI, the SBI, the Transylvania County Sheriff's
Office, the Haywood County Sheriff's Office, and the Cruso Fire Department for
their respective work and assistance in this case.
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney
Don Gast, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville.
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