Monday, December 5, 2011

Maxton, NC: Maxton woman sentenced in murder

A Maxton woman facing charges of first-degree murder has take an Alford plea to second-degree murder, and will serve at least 18 years in prison.

According to courthouse documents, Lora Lee Oxendine, 51, of 206 Anastasia Road, was charged on June 16, 2008, with first-degree murder in the death of Archie Baker, 76, with whom she shared the Maxton home. Oxendine was sentenced last month to 220 to 273 months in prison, and will receive credit for time served since the murder, according to documents.

An Alford plea occurs when a defendant does not admit guilt, but is sentenced by the court as if a guilty plea had been entered.

Baker, 76, had been living with Oxendine on and off for several months, and according to a family member, his death may have been the result of a domestic dispute.

Baker ’s body was discovered after two family members went to the house looking for him because he had not been seen or heard from for about two days. The doors to the house were locked, but the family members looked through a window and saw Baker’s body on a bedroom floor in a pool of blood.

A family member called 911 just after 8 a.m. on June 16. When sheriff’s deputies and emergency personnel arrived, Baker was pronounced dead at the scene.

The documents nor the previous reports indicated how Baker died, and a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office could not be reached for comment.

According to documents, Oxendine “appeared to be irrational in her thought and speech” when she was arrested, and was evaluated to determine whether or not she was capable of proceeding to trial.

Oxendine has also been convicted on several unrelated charges, including larceny, possession of drug paraphernalia and shoplifting, according to documents.

She is incarcerated at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh.

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