Injured man found in Raleigh cemetery dies in hospital; 2 arrested for murder

RALEIGH, N.C. (TCD) --

Two people have been arrested for murder and a teen is in custody in the death of a North Carolina man found mortally injured in a cemetery Friday night.

Raleigh Police said officers responded to a report of a man suffering from serious injuries at around 10 p.m. on Friday, May 28. The victim was hospitalized, but was later pronounced dead. His cause of death was not released.

WTVD-TV reports the victim, identified as 69-year-old James Lacy Taylor, was discovered at Mt. Olivet Cemetery near North Carolina State University.

According to WNCN-TV, witnesses saw two men and a woman leave the area in two vehicles. One was a four-door sedan and the other was a pickup truck with an extended cab.

On Saturday, May 29, officers arrested Maria Elizabeth Pena-Echeverria for murder. She was booked in the Wake County Jail and held without bond. She's scheduled to appear in court on June 21.

WRAL-TV reports Raleigh resident Johnathan Dan Villanueva-Galer, 19, was arrested Tuesday, June 1, and charged with murder. Villanueva-Galer was reportedly on probation at the time of his arrest. Villanueva-Galer is scheduled to appear in court on June 23.

An unidentified 16-year-old was also taken into custody in the case, WRAL reports.

The cemetery is reportedly on North Carolina State University property. WNCN reports a university employee said the victim went to the cemetery for a routine check on animals there, according to Raleigh Police.

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