On December 8, 2023, 30-year-old Coty Allen Gales was fatally shot on Vacation Street in Supply, North Carolina. The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office arrested 50-year-old James Riley Spivey of Supply and charged him with first-degree murder; Spivey was held without bond and had a probable cause hearing set for January 4, 2024. Authorities have not disclosed a motive, and the investigation remains ongoing.

In the months before his death Gales had posted on social media alleging that certain individuals were involved in sexual assault and pedophilia. On October 12, 2023, he said he planned to report those allegations to authorities and warned that if he died mysteriously the people he’d accused should be investigated. On November 18, 2023, he named specific individuals again and said he feared for his life. Whether those posts relate to the shooting has not been established.

Gales is survived by his parents, Keith Allen Gales and Regina Lynn Bellamy Simmons, and his two sons, Kaden and Mason; he was preceded in death by his brother, Tyler Gales. Funeral services were held December 15, 2023, at United Vision Church in Shallotte, followed by burial at Chapel Hill Cemetery.

If anyone knew Coty, his activities in Supply, or has information about the night of December 8, please share what is known.