NC Mail Carrier Kidnapped, Murdered on Her Route

A widowed mail carrier was murdered while working her rural North Carolina route on Friday. Authorities say Brandi Reynolds, 35, was abducted and killed while delivering mail in Hays, leaving behind two daughters who had already lost their father in a December car crash. Prosecutors have charged 56-year-old William Craig Durham of nearby Roaring River with first-degree kidnapping and murder. A warrant alleges he forcibly moved Reynolds "for the purpose of terrorizing" her and causing serious harm, reports NBC News.

Investigators have not disclosed how she was killed or suggested a motive, though the Wilkes Record reports witnesses said they heard multiple gunshots. A judge ordered Durham held without bond, citing what state prison records show is a criminal history that includes a prior kidnapping conviction and gun offense. The case is being handled jointly by federal postal inspectors, the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office, and state investigators. Reynolds' obituary called her daughters "her whole world."