Autopsy: Avery Scurlock found with 8 gunshot wounds
Michael Futch Staff writer @FO_Futch
Jun 27, 2019 at 1:58 PM Jun 27, 2019 at 5:38 PM
LUMBERTON — The autopsy report from the N.C. Office of the Medical Examiner said 23-year-old Avery Scurlock had eight gunshot wounds when Scurlock's body was found in a field earlier this month.
The manner of death has been ruled a homicide, the Chief Medical Examiner's Office in Raleigh said in its findings released Thursday.
Scurlock, from Lumber Bridge, was found in a field on June 5 after Robeson County sheriff's deputies were called to the 100 block of Old Tower Road just outside Lumberton on a report of gunfire.
"His car and phone were missing," reads a portion of the summary of the autopsy.
Scurlock was pronounced dead at the scene. The summary said .45-caliber cartridge casings were found at the scene.
The N.C. Chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America demanded action in response to the Lumberton homicide.
The murder also drew national attention from the LGBTQ community, which reported Scurlock's death as the latest in a troubling trend of transgender black women homicides across the country.
Scurlock had a Facebook page under the name Chanel Scurlock where friends used female pronouns and the name "Chanel" while Scurlock posted personal photos and videos presenting as female.
On June 12, the day of Scurlock's funeral in Tar Heel, Javaras Hammonds, 20, of Norment Road, Lumberton, was arrested at his home and charged with first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon, the Sheriff's Office said. The Sheriff's Office has not discussed a motive.
According to the autopsy, Scurlock had multiple gunshot wounds: three in the torso, two in the abdomen, and one each in the left hip and abdomen, right lower back and right flank, and upper right arm. One bullet was recovered.
Law enforcement did not request collection of swabs for possible sexual assault until after washing of the body had begun, the autopsy said.
Staff writer Michael Futch can be reached at mfutch@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3529.