Rocky Point, NC: 911: 'I got a call from an employee who said he killed his girlfriend'

ROCKY POINT, NC (WECT) – A man was arrested and charged with murder after a woman was found dead Friday night. Several neighbors said the two had been dating for about a year.

According to Captain Ezzell of the Pender County Sheriff's Office, the department is investigating the murder of 50-year-old Debra Long. The crime was reported around 3:30 a.m. Saturday.

The Sheriff's Office said Long was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said 39-year-old Tony Allen Harris is a suspect in the death. He was arrested and charged with murder, according to Ezzell. He's currently in the Pender County Jail under no bond.

911 calls reveal Harris called several people close to him after the incident. He apparently called his boss and his mother saying he killed his girlfriend.

"I got a call from an employee who said he killed his girlfriend," explained Jeff Dobbin when calling 911. "He just told me that she tried to attack him with a knife and somehow he got it away from her and she ended up dead."

Another call went out to his mother, who then called Kim Simmons with Physician Alliance Mental Health in New Hanover County.

"I just got a call from a client's mother saying that her son called saying he just killed his girlfriend," explained Simmons on the 911 call. "Mom is on her way to the house right now. I asked her not to go in when she gets there, because I'm afraid he may kill himself and/or kill her."

Long's close friend Carla Spencer said Long planned to get a restraining order against her boyfriend on Monday, but she never made it.

"It's just a shame. She was a good lady. She would help anybody. She would give anybody the shirt off of her back," Spencer said.

Now, she wants others women to take action before it's too late.

"Women, get away from men like that. It's not worth it. It's not worth your life. That is not love," she said. "Just cold, cold hearted. That's all I can say about him."

Harris's criminal history dates back to 1989. He's been convicted three times for assault on a female. He has also served time for several drug and breaking and entering convictions.

Long was found at 140 China Berry Lane in Rocky Point. Spencer said Long moved in to that house a few months ago.