Duo allegedly killed Burke couple for inheritance
Jamar Quarmaine Propst also faces charges in 2008 Catawba County murder
Tosha Lewis sits in court during her first appearance on a second set of felony conspiracy and murder charges. According to the search warrant, she and her boyfriend planned to kill the Murrays ‘for their money.’
According to the search warrant, Jamar Propst shot the Murrays in their bed before burying their bodies in Glen Alpine.
When Tosha Lee Lewis, 36, of Hickory, was led into the courtroom on July 27 on her first set of conspiracy and murder charges, her contorted, crying face gave the impression of someone caught up in an unfortunate misunderstanding.
According to the search warrant regarding the deaths of Raheim and Carla Murray, however, a different side of Lewis comes to light.
Much of the search warrant relies on the findings of detectives and the recollection of Jamar Quarmaine Propst, 36, of Hickory, who is also charged in the murders.
The circumstances that led to the arrests of Lewis and Propst, both indicted on two counts of murder and two counts of felony conspiracy as of Aug. 6, began with Carla inheriting $75,000.
Propst allegedly confirmed they killed the Murrays “for their money.” Arrest warrants pointed to July 13 as the date of the offense.
The search warrant states that Propst was interviewed on July 24 by a Burke County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) detective. He told the detective that a few days before the Murrays were set to travel to Myrtle Beach, Lewis visited the Murrays and convinced them she and Propst were fighting.
She stuck around long enough for them to fall asleep, according to Propst’s summarized statement, then left through the back door, leaving it open for Propst to enter and shoot the couple in their bed with a .22-caliber M&P 15.
After cleaning the Murrays’ home and concealing the bodies in the back of Lewis’ Buick for at least a day, Propst said he took the bodies to the area of Simpson Field in Glen Alpine, where he spent the next two days burying them in a 10-by-10-foot plot.
Before burying them, however, he used their faces to unlock their phones and remove the passcodes. Lewis then transferred $19,000 from Carla’s CashApp to her own account, according to the search warrant.
Between the time of the murders and the arrests, Propst and Lewis moved themselves and their four children into the residence.
Lewis used Carla’s phone, and allegedly told officers the Murrays were vacationing in Myrtle Beach. The warrant states she said she was using Carla’s silver Dodge Durango until they returned while caring for the couple’s dogs and home.
She allegedly said she drove Carla to Myrtle Beach in the Durango on July 18 and Raheim drove his motorcycle, which the Murrays were using while on vacation.
Raheim’s motorcycle was last spotted by a Flock camera on July 6, traveling on N.C. Highway 18. Flock cameras showed the Durango traveling to Myrtle Beach on July 18 and returning on July 19.
On July 20, a Burke County Parks employee discovered two shovels covered in brush. Later that day, they stumbled upon a patch of “disturbed earth” about 90 feet off the trail in the wooded area, concealed with trimmed tree branches.
There was a pillow with a dark-colored substance on it and Poly-fil-like material found nearby.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) was contacted, and the next day SBI agents and the BCSO uncovered bedding material taped and wrapped around a human body. The air stank of decomposition and insects buzzed around the dirt, surrounded by wet, dark-colored leaves.
Detectives transported the rolled-up material to the local morgue at the request of the Medical Examiner’s Office, where it was determined that the body belonged to an “unknown, possibly black male. … The male appeared to have a septum piercing and multiple tattoos.”
The autopsy on July 23 identified Raheim by his fingerprints. As of that point, officials had not received a missing-person report for Raheim, and there had been no contact with Carla, although the search warrant states that Lewis claimed to speak to Carla via text that same day.
The execution of a search warrant on July 24 led to the discovery of .22 caliber projectiles in the Murrays’ home. The Buick, registered to Lewis, was also found at the residence.
Propst’s interview took place later that day. Propst told investigators that Lewis and Carla had worked together at the smoke shop before Lewis learned of Carla’s inheritance.
Although investigators believed Lewis continued using Carla’s cell phone, the device had not been recovered as of July 27.
Lewis was arrested driving a blue Mazda on July 24, and the search warrant stated “a fair probability of items from the murder would be located inside the vehicle,” such as firearms, ammunition, DNA, or any other evidence.
Carla’s body was found on July 25. She was identified on July 27, the same day as Propst and Lewis’ first appearance in court for murder and conspiracy charges related to Raheim.
Once Carla was identified, the couple was charged with additional counts of murder and conspiracy.
The execution of the search warrant produced a hotel room key, the keys to the Dodge, pillows, a rubber glove, pants, and other potential evidence.
Their probable cause date was set for Aug. 17, but since they were indicted on Aug. 6, their next appearance in Superior Court will be on Sept. 28.
Propst, who was indicted on a robbery-gone-wrong murder charge in 2023 in Catawba County, has a court date related to that case on Aug. 17 at the Catawba County Justice Center.
According to that search warrant, Propst and several friends conspired to rob Jeter Edward Greene, also known as Eddie Greene, in 2008. After another of the men shot Greene with a rifle, they all fled and eventually split the money.
Propst allegedly told detectives that he received $300-$400 at the time.
Both defendants are presumed innocent on all charges until proven guilty in court.
