2 charged with killing couple over $75,000 inheritance, moving into victims’ home

MORGANTON, N.C. (WBTV/Gray News) - A man and woman are accused of killing a couple over an inheritance after remains were found last month off a North Carolina nature trail.

On July 25, deputies charged Jamar Propst and Tosha Lewis with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of conspiracy.

Propst and Lewis are accused of killing 31-year-old Raheim Murray and 39-year-old Carla Murray in their sleep inside their Morganton home.

An arrest warrant said deputies interviewed Propst on July 24. He said Lewis and Carla Murray previously worked together at a smoke shop. Lewis learned that Carla Murray had inherited $75,000.

Deputies previously said days before Propst and Lewis were to travel to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, they were going to Carla Murray’s home. Propst told deputies they were going to the home under the guise he and Lewis were fighting, according to a warrant.

The arrest warrant said after the Murrays fell asleep, Lewis exited through the back door and allegedly left it open. Propst then entered the home and allegedly shot both Raheim Murray and Carla Murray while they slept with a .22-caliber pistol, officials said.

The arrest warrant said Propst and Lewis killed the Murrays for their money.

The Burke County Sheriff’s Office said Lewis and Propst took the Murrays’ cellphones and used their faces after they were killed to unlock their phones.

The warrant said Propst told Lewis that Carla Murray’s Cash App had $19,000 on it. Lewis transferred it to her account.

Officials also said after the Murrays’ deaths, Lewis and Propst cleaned up the home and moved the two bodies into a Buick.

Deputies said after the house was cleaned, Lewis and Propst moved into the home with their four kids.

Lewis continued to use Carla Murray’s cellphone.

The arrest warrant said the bodies stayed in Lewis’ Buick for at least a day before Propst took the bodies to Benfield Park off Hennessee Street in Glen Alpine.

Human remains found

On July 21, the sheriff’s office said a large amount of bedding material wrapped around a body was found off a nature trail in Benfield Park.

The Burke County Sheriff’s Office identified the body as Rahiem Murray and confirmed he was married to Carla Murray.

As of July 23, no one reported Raheim Murray as missing and there was no contact with Carla Murray, according to the warrant.

Deputies found more human remains off the nature trail on July 25. The remains were later identified to be Carla Murray, according to officials.

Deputies ran a license plate search for Raheim Murray’s motorcycle and it was last seen on July 6 at around 11:25 a.m. The motorcyclist was a Black male with a helmet on riding southbound on Highway 18 in Morganton.

Officials also said Carla Murray’s Dodge Durango was found on July 24 in Morganton. The driver of the vehicle was Lewis.

Lewis allegedly told deputies she took the Durango to Myrtle Beach on July 18 while the Murrays went on the motorcycle, according to the arrest warrant.

The warrant said the Durango was located on security cameras traveling to Myrtle Beach on July 18 and back to Morganton on July 19.

The sheriff’s office said Lewis told deputies the Murrays had moved. Lewis allegedly told deputies she was driving the Durango to take care of the dogs for the Murrays.

Deputies executed a search warrant on July 24 at the Murrays’ home in Morganton and found .22-caliber casings.