Kenneth Stancil Admits to Wayne Community College Shooting in Court, Waives Extradition Right
ByKenneth Morgan Stancil III has waived his right to an extradition hearing and will be headed back to North Carolina to be tried for the murder of Ron Lane.
According to the Associated Press, Stancil, 20, told the court at a hearing Tuesday he entered the Wayne Community College (WCC) campus Monday morning to kill Lane for molesting his younger brother. Stancil's mother, Debbie, refuted the claim, saying her son was "rattled and confused" because the brother he was talking about never met Lane.
"He just snapped. That is not my son," Debbie Stancil told the AP. "He's probably out of his mind. I think he needs mental help."
She has previously stated that Lane made sexually inappropriate comments toward her son when he was a student at WCC. Stancil was in Lane's work-study program in the campus print shop, but was dismissed for what WCC President Kay Albertson called "poor attendance" in a press conference Tuesday.
Goldsboro Police Sgt. Jeremy Sutton addressed Stancil's arrest at that press conference, confirming he was found sleeping on Daytona Beach in Fla. early Tuesday morning. He could not confirm what they believed Stancil's motive was, but said investigators were considering the possibility of the shooting being a hate crime.
Police now know Stancil fled the scene on a motorcycle, which broke down on I-95 southbound. After walking 30 miles, a woman heading for Key West, Fla. picked him and brought him to Daytona Beach.
At his hearing Tuesday, WNCN noted, Stancil was unapologetic and welcomed the possibility of being sentenced to life in prison. His comments in court do not seem to suggest he shot Lane out of homophobia, but because he thought he was protecting his family.
Lane's family has not commented publicly on the matter expect to call accusations of molestation "slanderous." Authorities at WCC have also said there had never been such complaints against Lane during his 18-year tenure.