James Dwight Peacock

The quiet of a North Carolina mid-June day was broken by a growing sense of unease among the family of James Dwight Peacock. On Thursday, June 15, 2023, calls to the 69-year-old Benson resident began to go unanswered, a silence that stretched from the early morning hours and deepened with each passing moment. The last time his daughter, Bridgett Elliott, had spoken to him was the night before, at 8:47 p.m. By the next morning, around 7:30 a.m., a curtain of silence had fallen. This uncharacteristic lack of communication prompted concerned family members to request that the Johnston County Sheriff's Office conduct a welfare check at his home.

Deputies arrived at 1621 NC Highway 27 West, a property just outside the Benson city limits that served as both his residence and his business. What they discovered inside turned a day of worry into one of tragedy. James Peacock, a Black male known to many as "Dwight," was found deceased within his home. The initial investigation by authorities quickly determined that his death was not of natural causes. He had sustained a single, fatal gunshot wound to the chest, and the case was immediately treated as a homicide. The scene within the house suggested a disturbance; the victim's dresser had been ransacked, and several rounds of. 38 caliber ammunition were scattered on the floor nearby. An empty money clip, missing an undisclosed amount of cash, was also found.

The investigation into the killing of the man described as a father, grandfather, brother, and friend to many in the surrounding communities, soon focused on a familiar name. Detectives learned of a history of conflict between Peacock and his former stepson, 25-year-old Wesley Alexander Jones. This history was not just a matter of family disagreements; it had escalated to violence in the past. A notable incident in 2018 involved Peacock discharging a firearm when Jones refused to leave his property. Furthermore, Jones was suspected by the family of being involved in previous break-ins at Peacock's home and business in 2021 and 2023. This troubled past cast a long shadow over the present investigation.

In the days following the discovery of Peacock's body, law enforcement sought to locate Jones. Investigators went to a home in Princeton, where they spoke with his ex-wife. She revealed that she had received a text from him around 7:30 a.m. on the day of Peacock's death, asking if she needed Pampers and clothes for a child. When detectives finally made contact with Jones by phone, he claimed he had not seen his former stepfather since 2021 and had not been to his residence recently. He agreed to meet with detectives the following day, but when questioned about his whereabouts and potential involvement in the murder, he requested an attorney. A court order was later obtained to access his cell phone usage and location data.

A week after James Peacock’s life was cut short, an arrest was made. On June 22, with the assistance of the Cumberland County and Wake County Sheriff's Offices, Wesley Alexander Jones was taken into custody and charged with murder. He was booked into the Johnston County Jail and held without bond. While an arrest brought a significant development in the case, the Johnston County Sheriff's Office stated that the investigation remained ongoing and did not release a possible motive for the killing.

As the legal process began, the family of James Dwight Peacock gathered to mourn their loss. A public viewing and funeral service were held at the Western Assembly Disciples of Christ Church in Newton Grove, where friends and relatives came to pay their respects to a man who left behind a daughter, a son, two grandchildren, and a host of other family members and friends. The case against his former stepson proceeds through the justice system, leaving a community to grapple with a violent death and a family to navigate their grief in the wake of a profound loss.