Almost 2400 people voted Thursday, in the first day of early voting at the five Burke County sites, according to the Board of Elections. Acoss the state, about 140,000 people voted, with some people waiting around an hour to cast ballots.

A second double homicide trial came to an end after 11 weeks with a verdict of not guilty on Thursday, in Caldwell County Superior. 57-year-old William Eugene Murphy was found innocent of committing the November 1990 murders of Mark Randall Seacrest and his wife Jeanie Barlow Seacrest inside their Caldwell County home. The case was investigated at that time, but was not solved. Murphy was arrested and charged with the murders in April 2010. The first trial ended in a mistrial on February 10th. The 12-member jury deliberated for 3 days before delivering the verdict, which found Murphy not guilty.

Two men discovered dead in Lenoir. Investigators found the pair Wednesday, inside their home on Clearfield Place. According to a news release from Lenoir Police, 74-year-old Gwyn Lee Kirby and 74-year-old Johnny Ben Church were inside the residence where they both lived. The release states that the victims appear to have died from unnatural causes. Both have been sent to undergo autopsies. Anyone with information on the case can call Lenoir Police at 757-2100 or Crimestoppers at 758-8300. The investigation continues.

There will be a scheduled power outage for Town of Drexel residents Sunday at 12:01am for about one hour, due to substation upgrades.