On April 6, 2023, deputies found 76-year-old Clifford Wade Ward outside his home on Racine Drive in Waco, North Carolina, with a metal object protruding from the back of his head. Initial statements by his nephew, 53-year-old David Eric Ward, claimed Clifford had fallen onto the object. The State Medical Examiner’s Office later determined Clifford had sustained a gunshot wound to the back of the head and that the metal object had been placed to conceal the injury. Investigators also found that on the day of Clifford’s death David Ward deposited a substantial check from Clifford’s account into his own.

Clifford Wade Ward was born January 17, 1947, in Cleveland County, was a 1965 graduate of Waco High School, and was active in farming, hunting, the USDA and the Cleveland County Livestock Association. He was preceded in death by his wife, Frances Louise Whitesides Ward, and is survived by brothers Dean and Darrell Ward, plus nieces, nephews and friends. A graveside service was held April 11, 2023, at Capernaum Cemetery.

After a five-month investigation, authorities arrested David Ward on September 28, 2023, charging him with first-degree murder and obtaining property by false pretense; he is being held without bond. Did anyone in the community know Clifford well enough to share details about his final days or about his relationship with family members?