Murder trial in death of Appalachian State University student set to begin

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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It’s not often that a university student around Western North Carolina gets murdered, but apparently the only media outlet interested in the case is the Watauga Democrat, which has the story about the trial in the case that’s set to begin:

Jury selection began Monday for the trial of Neil Matthew Sargeant, 26, in the 2005 murder of Stephen William Harrington.

Sargeant faces the death penalty on the charge of first-degree murder. He is also charged with first-degree kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon and burning of personal property.

Harrington’s body was discovered at 7:45 on the morning of Nov. 8, 2005 in the trunk of his own Subaru parked on Sleepy Hollow Lane in the Foscoe community. His arms were bound behind his back, and his face wrapped in duct tape. Harrington’s body had been set aflame in the trunk of the car.

The first co-defendant to stand trial was Kyle Quentin Triplett, 23, in mid-September. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, a lesser offense, first-degree kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon, burning of personal property and conspiracy with Neil Sargeant to sell and/or deliver a schedule II controlled substance (cocaine). He was sentenced to 40 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

The third co-defendant Matthew Brandon Dalrymple, 22, has agreed to testify against his co-defendants in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table. He will stand trial at a later, yet undetermined, date.

For more details see the Wednesday edition of the Watauga Democrat.