A 40-year-old man from North Carolina who went missing last Christmas Eve was found dead and dismembered, with his body parts hidden inside a barrel filled with concrete, police said.
Police made the discovery on January 26, on the second day of their search of a residence in Sanford and its surrounding areas.
According to a press release by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, deputies had executed a search warrant on the home on January 25. The statement states that deputies searching a wooded area near the home found a 55-gallon barrel filled with concrete and what they suspected were human remains.
Police sent the barrel to the North Carolina State Medical Examiner’s Office, which confirmed that the remains belonged to a man identified as Michael Bradley Cox.
According to a previous press release by the Sheriff, Cox, 40, had not been seen or heard from since December 24, 2022. The man was reported missing almost two weeks later, on January 5.
Investigators arrested Jackie Lamar Bright, who was living at the residence in Sanford and charged him with the murder of Cox.
Police said the suspect was a known drug dealer with an extensive criminal record. Bright was released from prison in May of last year.
The Sheriff’s office said Bright had not reformed during his time in prison and had been arrested twice in January 2023 on unrelated charges. Bright was on parole when deputies from Lee County Sheriff’s Office placed him into custody on January 6 for possession of a stolen car and violations of controlled substances. Police found the stolen vehicle in his home with a substantial amount of opioids, marijuana, and cocaine.
The Sheriff’s office said in the press release that the suspect bonded out of jail. Lee County deputies arrested him again five days later, on January 11, for violating his parole and additional controlled substances violations.
Bright was in police custody when the officer made the gruesome discovery on the suspect’s property.
Authorities have not given a motive for the murder or said how the two men were connected.
The Sheriff said the investigation is still active and additional charges would be filed against Bright.
