Sunday, August 15, 2010

Kings Mountain, NC: Community, family shocked by counselor's killing, husband charged with murder

Saturday, Aug 14 2010, 8:02 pm
Rebecca Clark
KINGS MOUNTAIN — Gaylain Crosby was known as a “true advocate” for those in need who spent her life counseling others.

Now, the 51-year-old psychologist is dead and police say her husband is responsible. Family members and the community are in shock.

Crosby’s husband, 46-year-old Joseph Lee Crosby, called 911 around 1 a.m. Saturday and said he might have killed his wife, according to the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office. Sources tell The Star she was strangled and that Crosby admitted to the killing.

“At this time, it appears that what occurred last night was an act of domestic violence,” said sheriff’s Capt. Alan Norman, who added that no previous 911 calls related to domestic violence had been made from the home.

When deputies arrived at the 330 Mary’s Grove Church Road home, they found Gaylain Crosby unresponsive, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release. Paramedics pronounced her dead shortly thereafter.

Joseph Crosby was still inside when the deputies arrived. He was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder, and he is being held without bond in the Cleveland County Detention Center.

Neighbors ‘in shock’

The large pink house where the Crosbys lived on Mary’s Grove Church Road was quiet and empty Saturday morning. A porch light glowed faintly in the daylight. There was no hint of the chaos that took place hours earlier.

The residence could be the home of any ordinary couple. The lawn is neatly mowed, black-eyed Susans grow in a flowerbed near the front porch. A blue van and silver sport utility vehicle are parked in the driveway, but there are no signs of life.

News of Crosby’s death and her husband’s arrest took the neighborhood by surprise.

“I didn’t know nothing about it until my sister-in-law called me,” said next-door neighbor Sarah Ager. “They were quiet people that kept to themselves. They didn’t bother anybody.”

Ager said she has been living on Mary’s Grove Church Road for 32 years and the Crosbys have been living in the house beside her for more than 10.

“It’s got everybody in shock,” she said.

Ager said she knew the couple had one daughter who was completing her last year in college.

“Sad situation,” she said, shaking her head.

‘A very good husband’

Gaylain Crosby’s brother, Philbert Degree, is as shocked as the rest of the community. He initially thought her death must have been due to a health problem.

“Even their daughter said she must have had a heart attack,” Degree said.

“They’re a very close family,” he added. “He’s been a very good husband from what I could see.”

Degree said Joseph Crosby had just gotten a new job, though he didn’t know where.

Gaylain and Joseph Crosby had known each other since college and had been together “a long time,” Degree said.

“It’s out of character,” said Degree’s wife, Jacqueline Degree. “She will be so missed.”

Jacqueline Degree said the Crosbys’ daughter, Tia, was in her last year of college and had just come home from a trip to Honduras. She was supposed to return to school Aug. 31.

“I never in a million years guessed something like that would happen,” Degree said.

Philbert Degree said he and his wife are mourning Crosby’s loss.

“Ask for people to pray for our family,” he said.

Tia Curry, the couple’s only child, was a 2007 graduate of Burns High School. She is attending UNC-Chapel Hill and won two McDonald’s scholar-ships.

Curry was also featured on several billboards in the Charlotte area to promote McDonald’s scholarship program and Ronald McDonald charities. She also received a $10,000 State Employees’ Credit Union scholarship.

Colleagues mourn ‘huge loss’

Gaylain Crosby was a counselor at Phoenix Counseling in Shelby. Colleagues in nonprofit and youth development work were shocked to hear of her death Saturday.

“Oh, my gosh,” said Chavis Gash, CEO of the after-school teen center Trinity III Inc. “I’m just speechless. I worked with Gaylain.”

“She was awesome with those kids,” Gash said. “She really cared about the community. She understood the ideology of these teenagers who were in rough situations. She was real. She was straight to the point with them.”

Gash said she was a well-respected professional.

“That’s a huge loss for the community,” he said.

Gash recalled meeting Crosby’s husband a couple times.

“He seemed like a nice guy,” he said.

Kevin Oliver of Phoenix Counseling said Gaylain Crosby was the type of person to put others first.

“Gaylain embodied true compassion for her clients and families, she was a true advocate,” Oliver said. “Gaylain’s iconic persona put the client first, and you always knew where her heart and mind stood on any topic related to the well-being of her clients. I hope everyone will join me in remembering the inner strength and passion of this fabulous woman.”

Reach reporter Rebecca Clark at 704-669-3344.

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