A Hildebran man faces assault charges following a domestic disturbance Tuesday. 27-year-old Jony Lee was charged with two counts of felony assault with a deadly weapon inflicting injury-the incident sending his two younger brothers to area hospitals. The Burke County Sheriff's Office reports that Lee had been in a verbal argument with his father at an apartment complex on Clarence Towery Circle. Lee reportedly stabbed both of his brothers after they became involved in the argument. Lee's 18-year-old brother was taken to Mission Hospital, treated and released, while his 17-year-old brother remains at Wake Forest Baptist Center in critical condition. Lee was placed in jail under $200,000 secured bond. the State Bureau of Investigation is assisting the Burke County Sheriff's Office in an ongoing investigation.

The jury in the double homicide trial of William Eugene Murphy could not reach a unanimous verdict, leading to a mistrial. After determining that the jury was hopelessly deadlocked at 6-6 and that further deliberation would be useless, the Honorable Nathaniel J.Poovey, Superior Court Judge from Catawba County, declared a mistrial shortly after 5pm Wednesday, at the Caldwell County Courthouse in Lenoir. Murphy is accused of committing the 1990 murders of Mark Randall Secreast and his wife Jeanie Barlow Secreast inside their Caldwell County home. The case was investigated at the time, but not solved. New evidence surfaced implicating Murphy, and he was arrested and charged with their murders in April 2010. Murphy has been incarcerated in the Caldwell County Detention Center almost six years.

The Caldwell County Spelling Bee title has been won by Natalie Brewer, a Hudson Middle 8th grader. That qualified her as a speller in the 76th Annual Winston-Salem Journal Regional Spelling Bee March 20. Second place finisher was Spencer Sigmon of Granite Falls Middle and placing third was Emma Haas of Gamewell Middle. The Spelling Bee was sponsored by the Educational Foundation Inc. of Caldwell County.