Cops Dive Deeper in NC Woman's Murky 'Suicide'

Sarah Long allegedly left $1M to secret married lover
By Shelley Hazen,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 10, 2014 8:05 AM CST
Cops Dive Deeper in NC Woman's Murky 'Suicide'
This photo shows Sarah Catherine Long, who police believe was killed in July.   (Provided photo)

A gun found in the left hand of a right-handed suicide victim. A secret married lover. And a $1 million inheritance. These are all clues in the mysterious July death of Sarah Catherine Long, 41, who police in Davidson, NC, at first believed killed herself, People reports. But now, they say she was murdered. Long's married lover, William Becker, tipped off police, claiming not to have seen her in four days, the New York Daily News reports. She was found dead in her condo on July 23 with a gun in her left hand and a gunshot wound above her left ear. But Long was right-handed and that hand wasn't bloody. Days after her death, Becker came forward claiming Long left him a $1 million fortune in her will. He also said she was depressed because she had cervical cancer, which her doctor refutes, WBTV reports.

Meanwhile, Becker's wife told police he gave her a smoothie in May that tasted of medicine, which she says he dumped in the toilet when confronted; she thinks he was trying to poison her. Investigators are awaiting results that will determine if Long was drugged. Neighbors saw Long enter her house with a man at about 10:20pm on July 19, the night police think she died. Police are now analyzing Long's texts, four laptops, wireless router, Yahoo account, and financials, the Charlotte Observer reports. They're hoping that the router might have linked to the cellphone of the man she was with the night of her death. (In North Carolina, a sinister mystery surrounds the hanging death of a teen whose family says he didn't kill himself.)

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