In a Monday afternoon press conference, the Orange County Sheriff's Office confirmed Issiah Ross, 17, will be tried as an adult for the Sept. 18 murders of two teenagers after Ross’ attorneys did not appeal to try him as a juvenile.
Ross is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the murders of Devin Clark and Lyric Woods. Authorities in Delaware have also charged two individuals with harboring a fugitive in assisting Ross, who was living in Mebane, when he fled from the state on Sept. 18.
During the press conference, Assistant District Attorney Jeff Nieman said because of this, they are now able to release the suspect’s name. He added that this still has a great effect on the community.
“Sheriff Blackwood and I want to once again express our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Devin and Lyric,” he said. “We hope our community will continue to support them.”
Public Information Officer for Orange County Sheriff's Office Alicia Stemper said this process has been challenging with calls from people to release further information before they were able to.
“We always really like to stress that we understand how painful this has been, especially in a social media world,” she said.
Clark, a senior at Eastern Alamance High School and former wide receiver on his school’s football team, and Woods, a freshman at Cedar Ridge High School in Hillsborough, were found dead on Sept. 18 just off a power line easement.
A suspect was first identified in the investigation on Sept. 20. It is not yet determined whether or not there will be a trial for this case.